COMMENTAKY 


ECCLESIASTES, 

WITH  OTHER  TREATISES. 
BY  E.  W.  HENGSTENBEEG,  DD., 

FBOFESSOS  OF  THEOLOQT,  BKELIN. 


TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  GERMAN 

By  D.  W.  SIMON. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

SMITH,  ENGLISH,  &  CO.,  No.  23  NOETH  SIXTH  STREET. 

NEW  YORK:  SHELDON  AND  COMPANY.  BOSTON:  GOULD  &  LINCOLN. 


MDCCCLX. 


CONTENTS. 


Page 

commentary  on  ecclesiastes, 1-268 

prolegomena  to  the  song  of  solomon,     .     .     .  269-305 

the  book  of  job, 307-339 

the  prophet  isaiah, 341-365 

the  sacrifices  of  holy  scripture,      .  .     .  367-409 

the  jews  and  the  christian  church,       .     .     .  411-478 
indexes- 
Index  I.  Hebrew  Words  Explained,       ...  .       .    479 
Index  II.  Passages  of  Scripture  Explained  and  Illustrated,    .    480 
Index  HI.  Principal  Subjects  treated  of,  or  incidentally 

discussed,  .  ...  ...    482 


INTRODUCTION. 


It  is  of  great  importance  accurately  to  determine  the  circum- 
stances of  the  time  at  which  this  Book  was  wi-itten.  In  this 
way,  not  only  will  a  sure  foundation  be  laid  for  investigations 
respecting  its  authorship,  but  a  point  be  secured  from  which 
we  may  start  in  endeavouring  to  unfold  its  meaning.  For 
this  latter  purpose  the  inquiry  is  a  specially  pertinent  one, 
inasmuch  as  the  book  evidently,  in  the  first  instance,  took  its 
occasion  from  passing  events,  was  addressed  to  a  particular 
generation  of  men,  and  intended  for  their  admonition  and 
comfort. 

The  Author  has  studiously  maintained  a  certain  tone  of 
reserve  in  respect  of  the  circumstances  of  his  time  ;  and  of 
designi  rather  glanced  at  them,  than  entered  into  details.  Tliis 
explains  wh}^  so  many  false  views  have  been  entertained  of 
the  situation  of  affairs,  to  the  great  prejudice  of  the  interpre- 
tation and  practical  application  of  the  book.  He  had  two 
reasons  for  restricting  himself  to  bare  allusions  to  the  events 
of  his  time.  In  the  first  place,  he  felt  that  though  writing 
primarily  for  his  own  generation,  his  book  was  destined  to 
form  part  of  the  Canonical  Scriptures,  and,  consequently,  to  be 
of  service  to  the  Church  of  God  in  aU  ages.  This  conscious- 
ness he  gives  express  utterance  to  in  chap.  xii.  1 1 :  "The  words 
of  the  wise  are  as  goads,  and  as  nails  fastened  by  the  masters 
of  assemblies,  which  are  given  from  one  shepherd."  This  being 
the  case,  the  writer  would  naturally  endeavour  to  give  pro- 
minence to  that  which  was  general  and  eternal  in  its  character, 
over  that  which  was  special  and  temporary,  only  lightly  glanc- 
ing at  the  latter,  in  order  that  his  teachings  might  be  easier 
i.f  universal  application.  The  Psalms  were  generally  composed 
oQ  the  same  principle.  Though  connected  with,  and  owing 
A 


2  INTRODUCTION. 

their  origin  to  certain  historical  events,  as  a  general  rule  they 
allude  so  sparingly  and  gently  to  actual  occurrences,  that  a 
microscopical  investigation  is  required  to  bring  them  out  with 
any  degree  of  clearness,  precision  and  fulness.  A  second  reason 
for  his  reticence  is  expressly  assigned  by  the  Author  himself 
in  chap.  x.  20  :  "  Curse  not  the  king,  no  not  in  thy  thought : 
and  curse  not  the  rich  in  thy  bed-chamber :  for  a  bird  of  the 
air  shall  carry  the  voice,  and  that  which  hath  wings  shall  carry 
the  matter."  According  to  this,  it  would  seem  to  have  been 
dangerous  for  the  Hebrews  to  use  plain  language  concerning 
things,  because  of  the  numerous  spies  and  informers  employed 
by  their  tyrannical  heathen  rulers.  Despite  this  reserve,  how- 
evei',  by  gathering  up  and  combining  scattered  traits  we  may 
form  a  tolerably  accurate  and  complete  picture  of  the  period 
to  which  the  book  of  Ecclesiastes  owes  its  origin. 

First  of  all,  let  us  bring  into  view  the  detached  and  frag- 
mentary hints  which  the  work  itself  gives  relative  to  the  ex- 
ternal circumstances  of  the  people  of  God  at  the  time  of  its 
composition. 

Evidently  they  were  in  a  state  of  deep  misery,  and  had 
fallen  a  prey  to  vanity ;  for  in  chap.  i.  2-11,  the  writer  holds 
up  to  the  view  of  his  nation  the  worthlessness  of  this  entire 
earthly  existence,  intending  thus  to  bring  his  fellow-country- 
men to  regard  the  wretched  lot  under  which  they  were 
gi'oaning  in  a  more  favourable  light.  If  misery  is  the  destined 
portion  of  man,  if  man  is  born  to  evil,  as  it  is  said  in  Job  v. 
7,  it  surely  cannot  be  of  great  consequence  whether  his  lot  be 
a  shade  brighter  or  a  shade  darker.  For  one  whose  sufferings 
are  peculiarly  severe,  there  is  sweet  consolation  in  the  thought, 
that  to  a  certain  extent,  or  rather,  that  in  all  the  essential 
characteristics  of  his  condition,  all  men  are  his  associates.  If 
all  is  vanity,  why  need  we  vex  ourselves  so  much  about  having 
a  handful  or  so  more  of  it  ? 

This  was  a  time  when  all  the  splendour  of  the  age  of 
Solomon  had  passed  away  :  for,  from  chap.  i.  1 2,  to  the  end 
of  chap,  ii.,  the  writer  labours  to  show  that  that  also  was 
vanity,  hoping  thus  to  console  and  tranquillise  under  their 
loss,  the  minds  of  those  who  were  consuming  themselves  with 
looking  back  upon,  and  yearning  for  bygone  glories.  Van- 
ished also  was  the  radiant  wisdom  of  the  generation  of  Solo- 


INTRODUCTION.  3 

mon;  for  in  chap.  i.  12-18,  those  are  cheered  who  were 
bewailing  the  j^ast :  vanished,  according  to  chap,  ii,  were  its 
great  works  and  projects,  its  rich  possessions,  its  brilliant 
relations,  its  glorious  and  joyous  life,  for  the  author  takes  the 
greatest  pains  to  show  that  it  was  all  "  vanity  and  vexation 
of  spirit,"  to  the  end,  that  the  people  might  feel  less  keenly  its 
present  lack  of  wealth  and  enjoyment. 

From  chap.  iii.  1-1 5,  we  learn  that  for  Israel  there  had  begun 
a  time  of  death,  of  the  uprooting  of  what  was  planted,  of  the 
breaking  down  of  what  was  built  up,  of  mourning,  a  time  when 
God  had  gone  far  away  from  them  and  withdrawn  His  help 
and  grace.  The  nation  was  persecuted,  was  being  tried  in 
the  furnace  of  affliction,  was  under  the  dominion  of  heathen 
rulers. 

Chap.  iv.  1-3,  teaches  us  that  the  earth  was  then  a  scene  of 
injustice  and  of  violence  :  the  times  were  such  as  to  force  on 
men's  minds  the  thought  that  it  is  better  to  die  than  to  live, 
nay  more,  that  it  had  been  best  never  to  have  been  born.  In 
chap.  iv.  4-6,  the  writer  seeks  to  console  his  miserable  fellow- 
countrymen  by  the  consideration  that,  at  all  events,  they  have 
not  to  bear  the  heavy  burden  of  envy.  ,  This  consolation  im- 
plies of  course,  that  they  were  in  anything  but  an  enviable 
condition.  According  to  chap.  iv.  7-1 2,  Israel  was  then  a  poor 
people  in  contrast  with  their  rich  heathen  tyrants.  The  ob- 
ject of  the  author  in  pointing  this  out  was  to  lead  his  nation 
to  form  a  just  estimate  of  that  which  the  heathen  'possessed, 
and  of  which  they  were  destitute,  to  counteract  the  envy  of 
the  riches  of  the  world  to  which  their  own  circumstances  ren- 
dered them  so  liable.  From  the  7th  to  the  1 2th  verse,  he 
consoles  the  people  in  their  beggary  for  the  loss  of  their  pos- 
sessions ;  from  the  ]  3th  to  the  1 6th  verse,  in  their  bondage 
for  their  loss  of  liberty. 

The  heathen  tyranny  under  which  the  people  of  God  lay 
groaning,  constitutes  the  point  of  departure  for  chap.  v.  7-8. 
According  to  ver.  7,  the  Inheritance  of  the  Lord,  destined 
originally  to  universal  dominion,  but  now  degraded  to  the  rank 
of  a  mere  province,  was  the  scene  of  oppression  of  the  poor 
and  of  perversion  of  justice  and  judgment. 

In  chap.  V.  9-19,  and  chap,  vi.,  the  nation,  sighing  beneath 
the  extortions  of  the   Gentiles,  is  asjain  comforted  for  the  loss 


4  INTRODUCTION. 

of  earthly  good  ;  the  rich  man  represents  the  Gentile,  the  poor 
man  Israel. 

According  to  chap.  vii.  Israel  was  then  in  the  house  of 
mourning,  the  heathen,  on  the  contrary,  sat  in  the  house  of 
feasting  (ver.  2),  in  the  house  of  mirth  (ver.  4),  had  the  upper 
hand,  and  were  floating  on  a  sea  of  pleasures  and  delights  (ver. 
5).  The  times  were  such  as  to  incline  men  strongly  to  deem 
the  day  of  death  better  than  the  day  of  birth  (ver.  1).  These 
were  times  when  men  asked,  "  What  is  the  cause  that  the 
former  days  were  better  than  these  ?"  (ver.  1 0) — when  Israel 
was  compelled  to  listen  to  the  rebukes  of  the  wise,  who  took 
occasion  from  their  misery  to  reproach  them  for  their  sins 
(ver.  5) — when  the  temptation  to  cherish  a  bitter  and  discon- 
tented spirit  lay  especially  near  (ver.  9) — when  there  was 
abundant  opportunity  of  exercising  the  virtue  of  patience 
(ver.  8) — when  no  signs  were  discernible  of  the  victory  over 
the  world  promised  to  the  Church  of  God,  but  in  that  respect 
it  was  left  entirely  to  faith  and  hope  (ver.  6,  8).  According 
to  verses  11,  12,  Israel  was  then  without  possessions,  and  had 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  death.  Every  other  portion  which 
should  belong,  and  once  had  belonged  to  the  people  of  God, 
was  now  taken  away,  and  it  was  reduced  to  the  one  inherit- 
ance of  the  wisdom  coming  from  above — an  inheritance,  how- 
ever, the  author  teaches,  which  must  bring  all  other  bless- 
ings in  its  train,  inasmuch  as  it  was  itself  the  good  of  chief 
value  at 'that  time.  In  verses  19  and  20,  also,  power  is 
represented  as  being  entirely  on  the  side  of  the  heathen,  whilst 
to  Israel  there  remained  only  its  inalienable  prerogative  and 
birthright  of  wisdom.  Verses  15-18  complain  that  Israel 
is  unfortunate,  despite  its  righteousness,  and  that,  on  the  con- 
trary, the  heathens,  or  the  heathen  tyrants,  are  fortunate, 
notwithstanding  their  wickedness.  According  to  verses  21 
and  22  Israel  was  forced  to  listen  without  reply  to  the  curses 
and  slanders  heaped  upon  them  by  the  Gentiles  ;  and  those 
held  the  upper  hand  who,  of  right,  and  by  God's  ordination, 
should  have  been  the  bondsmen  of  the  nation  which,  from  its 
very  commencement,  was  exalted  to  the  throne  of  the  world. 

From  chap.  viii.  9  we  learn  that  it  was  a  time  when  "  one 
man  ruled  over  other  men  to  their  hurt" — when  the  wicked 
had  in  their  possession  Jerusalem,   "the  place  of  the  holy" 


INTRODUCTION.  5 

(ver.  1 0) — when  this  state  of  things  had  already  lasted  long 
(ver.  1 2) — when  the  earnestly  expected  decree  of  their  heavenly 
king  against  the  usurpers  had  been  long  delayed  (ver.  11).  / 
(Throughout  the  entire  book  no  other  king  than  the  heavenly  I 
one  is  spoken  of  as  their  own  ;  and  it  is  a  very  characteristic ' 
feature  that  He  is  without  hesitation  designated  "  tlie  king" 
(viii.  2).      Everywhere  the  Gentiles  are  introduced  as  holding 
external  earthly  rule  over  the  people  of  God.) 

The  commencement  of  chap.  ix.  gives  us  to  understand 
that  the  present  position  of  affairs  proved  a  serious  stumbling- 
block  in  the  way  of  faith,  and  caused  men  to  err  in  respect 
to  God  and  the  righteousness  of  His  rule  in  the  earth,  as  they 
saw  how  the  lot  of  the  righteous  was  interwoven  and  con- 
founded with  the  lot  of  the  wicked.  So  truly  hopeless  and 
forlorn  did  the  condition  of  the  covenanted  people  appear  to 
those  who  looked  on  it  with  eyes  of  flesh  alone  that  they 
were  in  danger  of  utterly  despairing.  Whilst  in  other  and  hap- 
pier days  the  men  of  God  regarded  it  as  their  bounden  duty 
to  counteract  frivolity,  and  to  draw  attention  to  the  earnestness 
of  life,  the  author  of  this  work  strives,  on  the  contrary,  with  all 
diligence  to  impress  on  his  readers  the  lesson,  "  Eat  thy  bread 
with  joy,  and  drink  thy  wine  with  a  meny  heart"  (ix.  7) — 
a  plain  proof  that  his  generation  was  in  great  danger  of  yield- 
ing to  a  gloomy  and  discontented  spirit,  and  that  their  life 
was  threatened  with  the  loss  of  all  that  made  it  desirable  and 
joyful.  The  desperate  nature  of  their  circumstances  is  clear 
also  from  the  earnestness  with  which  the  writer  warns  them 
against  listless  inactivity  (ix.  1 0  ;  xi.  4-6).  Sluggish  hands 
are  to  be  found  wherever  men's  circumstances  seem  hopelessly 
bad ;  see  Isa.  xiii.  7  ;  xxxv.  3  ;  Ezek.  vii.  1 7  ;  Job.  iv.  3. 

Characteristic  of  the  posture  of  affairs  are  the  words  of 
chap.  X.  6,  7  :  "  Folly  (which  is  everywhere  set  forth  in  the 
book  as  the  soul  of  Heathendom)  has  been  set  on  gi'eat  heights, 
and  the  rich  (;i.e.,  those  who,  according  to  God's  word  and  pro- 
mise, should  be  rich)  sit  in  a  low  place.  I  saw  servants  (i.e., 
those  who  by  right,  and  by  God's  law,  ought  to  be  servants) 
on  horses,  and  princes  (i.e.,  members  of  the  nation  whose 
vocation  it  is  to  rule  over  the  world,  Exod.  xix.  6),  walking 
on  foot  like  servants."  The  condition  of  the  power  which 
then  ruled  the  world  is  depicted  in  chap.  x.  11-20.     It  pre- 


6  ■     INTRODUCTTON. 

sented  a  spectacle  at  once  of  wickedness  and  folly  (iv.  11-15); 
tlie  king  and  his  nobles  had  surrendered  themselves  to  rioting 
and  drunkenness  (iv.  16,  17);  nowhere  had  morality  any 
hold  ;  rottenness,  wantonness,  and  gold  prevailed  everywhere, 
consequently  ruin  was  inevitable. 

Now,  the  picture  thus  drawn  corresponds  to  no  period  but 
that  when  the  Persians  held  dominion  over  the  people  of  God. 
During  the  time  embraced  by  the  canonical  books  of  the  Old 
Testament,  this  was  the  only  power  to  whose  tyranny  the 
people  of  God  was  subjected  in  its  own  land,  the  temple  at 
the  same  time  standing,  and  the  worship  thereof  being  kept 
up  (compare  chap.  v.  17). 

The  time  of  the  Persian  rule  corresponds  to  the  descrip- 
tions given  in  this  book,  not  only  as  respects  the  external, 
but  also  as  respects  the  internal  condition  of  the  people.  Con- 
siderable importance  must  be  attached  to  the  fact,  tliat  idola- 
try, the  temptation  to  which  had  beset  the  nation  so  strongly 
from  the  days  of  Solomon  to  the  Babylonish  exile,  never 
appears  in  the  delineation  of  internal  evils.  During  the  resi- 
dence in  Babylon  false  gods  seem  to  have  lost  their  attrac- 
tions for  Israel.  On  the  other  hand,  however,  we  find  them 
assailed  by  enemies  and  dangers  which,  from  other  sources,  we 
know  to  have  been  peculiar  to  the  time  which  succeeded  the 
exile.  Malachi,  the  last  of  the  prophets,  delivered  his  pro- 
phecy during  the  Persian  dominion,  and  in  particular  during 
the  reign  of  Artaxerxes,  and  his  warnings  and  attacks  are 
directed  to  the  same  evils  as  those  set  forth  in  this  book. 
Israel's  temptation,  then,  was  to  Pharisaism — to  a  resting 
contented  with  a  hollow  righteousness  which  sought  to  sup- 
/ply  the  lack  of  living  fear  of  God  and  spiritual  devotion  by 
beggarly  outward  works,  sacrifices  (iv.  17),  long  prayers,  and 
the  like.  We  encounter  here,  as  in  Malachi,  that  moroseness 
which  ever  accompanies  unspiritual  religion  and  soulless  mo- 
rality, when  the  expectations  on  which  they  were  based  prove 
to  be  a  delusion,  and  when  painful  experience  teaches  the 
lesson  that  godliness  is  not  an  affair  of  gain.  Covetousness 
also  is  here,  which  can  only  be  uprooted  in  a  soul  that  rises 
steadily  and  truly  towards  God,  and  which  a  Pharisaical  piety, 
instead  of  destroying,  stimulates  and  fosters.  By  this  sin 
men  are  especially  tempted,  in  times  of  distress  ;  then  we  fall 


INTRODUCTION.  7 

very  easily  into  a  habit  of  scratching  and  scraping  for  gain. 
Finally,  in  chap.  viii.  11,  our  attention  is  drawn  to  the  exist- 
ence of  a  power  tempting  men  to  utter  apostacy  from  God 
and  law,  to  transgress  into  the  way  of  the  wicked  ;  and  from 
this  also  w^e  should  judge  the  period  to  have  been  one  of 
heavy  misfortune. 

If  such  were  the  external  and  internal  circumstances  of  the 
people  of  God,  the  idea  cannot  for  a  moment  be  entertained 
that  the  book  dates  from  the  time  of  Solomon,  and  that  he 
was  himself  the  author.  For  a  long  time  this  opinion  pre- 
vailed both  in  the  Jewish  and  Christian  Church.  The  true 
interpretation  of  the  work  thus  suffered  serious  detriment, 
for  its  practical  significance  depends  in  great  measure  on 
our  clearly  and  distinctly  understanding  the  historical  cir- 
cumstances to  which  it  owed  its  origin,  and  in  adaptation  to 
which  it  was  written.  The  first  step  towards  the  overthrow  of 
this  prejudice  was  taken  by  the  Chaldee  Paraphrast.  It  is 
true,  he  holds  to  the  opinion  that  Solomon  w^as  its  author, 
but  at  the  same  time  supposes  that  through  the  spirit  of  pro- 
phecy he  was  transported  to,  and  described  the  time  when, 
Jerusalem  was  destroyed  and  the  nation  was  carried  away 
into  exile.'""  We  may  remark  also  in  passing,  that  those  who 
start  with. the  groundless  prejudice  that  David  composed  all 
the  Psalms,  resort  to  a  similar  mode  of  explanation  in  regard 
to  several  whose  contents  it  is  plainly  impossible  to  \mder- 
stand  from  the  events  and  circumstances  of  that  particular 
period.  To  Grotius  belongs  the  merit  of  having  first  clearly 
recognised  the  invalidity  of  the  opinion  that  Solomon  wrote  this 
book.t  He  failed,  however,  to  enter  into  a  closer  discussion 
of  the  main  argument  for  his  view,  namely,  the  hints  given 
by  the  book  itself  regarding  the  historical  circumstances  in 
the  midst  of  which  it  was  composed.  The  only  gTOund  urged 
by  him  w^as  the  chai'acter  of  the  style  and  language,  which 
indicated  a  later  period.      But  he  erroneously  maintained  that 

*  He  gives  the  following  pharaphrase  of  chap.  i.  2 :  Cum  viderct  Salomo 
rex  Israel  per  spiritum  propheticum,  regniim  Roboam  filii  sui  divisum  iri  cum 
Jeroboam,  filio  Nebat,  Jerusalem  etiam  domumque  sanctuarii  destructum  iri,  et 
pop\ilum  filiorum  Israel  cxulaturum,  dixit  in  verbo  suo,  "  vanitas,"  &c. 

t  Ego  tamen  Salomonis  nou  esse  puto,  sed  scriptum  serins,  sub  illius  regis 
tanquam  pcenitentia  ducti  nomine.  Argumenta  ejus  rei  habeo  raulta  vocabula 
quce  non  alibi  quam  in  Daniele,  Esdra  et  Chaldi3eis  interpretibus  reperias. 


8  INTRODUCTION. 

it  was  written  under  the  name  of  Solomon  as  the  Penitent. 
In  this  respect  he  followed  too  closely  in  the  footsteps  of  the 
older  commentators  of  the  Church,  who  looked  upon  Ecclesiastes 
as  the  fruit  of  Solomons  repentance.  Grotius  found  an  ad- 
herent of  his  view  in  the  marvellous  Hermann,  v.d.  Hardt 
{de  libro  Coheleth,  1716),  who,  however,  was  quite  incom- 
petent to  bring  convincing  evidence  of  the  correctness  of  his 
opinion.  Both  these  men  were  justly  a  scandal  to  the  theo- 
logy of  the  Church,  and,  in  respect  of  this  question  as  M^ell  as 
of  others  it  has  maintained  an  attitude  of  coolness  towards 
them.  The  Church  should  take  shame  to  itself  for  having 
left  Rationalism  to  make  good  the  truth  as  to  the  composition 
of  this  book,  especially  as  its  very  commencement  is  decidedly 
against  the  prevalent  prejudice  ;  to  its  honour,  however,  be  it 
said  that  on  its  revival  it  gave  willing  ear  to  the  truth,  and 
since  then  only  a  few  isolated  and  unimportant  attempts  have 
been  made  to  return  to  the  lower  position.  In  the  present 
work,  by  more  carefully  examining  the  historical  relations  of 
the  book,  we  have  endeavoured  to  lay  a  firmer  foundation  for 
the  more  coirect  view,  and  hope  thus  to  render  impossible  a 
revival  of  the  old  prejudice. 

The  only  argument  which  is  urged  with  any  force  in  favour 
of  the  authorship  by  Solomon,  is  the  one  drawn  from  the  fact 
that  he  is  named  as  the  author  in  the  title,  and  is  intro- 
duced as  speaking  in  the  work.  The  nullity  of  this  argument 
we  shall  endeavour  to  show  at  chap.  i.'l.  We  shall  prove 
that  Solomon  is  not  only  not  the  direct  author  of  the  book, 
but  that  it  does  not  even  profess  to  be  by  him,  that,  on  the 
contrary,  the  very  first  words  indicate  him  not  to  have  writ- 
ten it. 

Evidence  against  the  authorship  of  Solomon  has  been  im- 
properly drawn  from  chap.  i.  12-16,  ii.  7,  where  it  is  said 
that  the  fictitious  character  of  the  work  is  for  the  moment 
thrown  aside  ;  see  the  remarks  on  the  passage.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  inconsistent  with  the  composition  of  the  book  by 
Solomon  that  he  is  represented  in  chap.  ii.  3,  9,  as  prosecut- 
ing his  search  after  sensual  enjoyments,  possessions,  and 
renown,  in  the  manner  of  a  philosophical  experimenter.  Solo- 
mon is  evidently  here  introduced,  not  in  his  actual  historical 
character,  but   as   an  ideal   person,   as   the   ideal    of  wi.sflom. 


INTRODUCTION.  9 

Tlie  tacit  allusion  in  chap.  ii.  12,  18,  19,  to  Solomon's  evil 
successor,  would  lead  also  to  the  conclusion  we  are  advocating. 
Besides,  the  author,  in  designating  himself  "a  wise  man" 
(chap.  xii.  9),  gives  up  any  pretence  of  being  personally  iden- 
tical with  Solomon. 

Hand  in  hand  with  the  evidence  against  Solomon  drawn 
from  the  historical  circumstances  of  the  work,  goes  that  which 
is  derived  from  peculiarities  of  style  and  language.  These 
are  undeniably  not  those  of  the  time  of  Solomon,  but  of  the 
later  post-exile  period,  as  we  shall  show  in  specific  instances  in 
our  commentary.  Compare,  for  example,  our  observations  on 
niyi  and  jryn,  chap.  i.  14;  p  pn,  in  the  sense  of  "  be- 
sides" chap.  ii.  25  ;  on  nriD,  chap.  v.  7  ;  on  mm  b]!,  in  the 
sense  of  "in  order  that,"  chap.  vii.  14  ;  on  "i^^s,  chap.  viii.  1  ; 
on  pta^i:^,  chap.  vii.  4  ;  on  pn,  chap.  viii.  10  ;  on  DJna, 
chap.  viii.  11  ;  on  j'oij,  chap.  x.  8  ;  on  jnn,  chap.  x.  20; 
and  on  hoi,  chap.  xii.  3. 

Finally,  the  position  the  book  occupies  in  the  Canon  is  a 
proof  that  Solomon  was  not  its  author — it  stands,  namely, 
separated  from  the  writings  of  that  period,  and  is  placed  after 
the  "  Book  of  the  Lamentations "  of  Jeremiah,  with  which 
last  of  all  the  poetical  books  it  is  directly  associated.  It 
comes  also  immedicxtely  before  those  writings  whose  history 
and  prophecy  find  their  explanation  in  the  circumstances  of 
the  time  succeeding  the  exile.  Had  the  collectors  of  the 
canonical  books  regarded  this  as  the  work  of  Solomon  they 
would  certainly  not  have  given  it  a  place  between  "  Lamen- 
tations "  and  "  Esther."  For  remarks  on  the  arrangement  of 
the  third  part  of  the  Canon  and  the  Hagiographa,  see  the 
"  Christology  of  the  Old  Testament,"  pt.  iii. 

If  we  may  consider  it  proved  that  the  book  originated 
within  the  period  of  the  Persian  dominion,  our  next  duty  is 
to  examine  whether  we  can  determine  more  exactly  the 
precise  date  of  its  composition.  In  doing  this  we  must  be 
principally  guided  by  the  fact  that  the  nation  which  held 
the  supi'emacy  is  represented  as  deeply  deteriorated,  as  having 
fallen  a  prey  to  folly  (chap.  x.  1),  as  demoralised  by  the  exer- 
cise of  despotic  power  (chap.  vii.  7),  as  sunk  in  sloth,  luxury, 
debauchery,  and  mammonism,  and  as  everywhere  exhibiting 
symptoms  of  the  speedy  downfall  of  the  entire  edifice  of  the 


]  0  INTRODUCTION. 

state  (chap.  x.  18-19,  vii.  1-6).  These  representations  do  not 
permit  us  to  think  of  the  time  of  Cyrus,  but  at  the  same  time 
do  not  necessitate  us  to  look  beyond  Xerxes,  during  whose 
reiga  internal  corruption  and  external  decay  had  made  the 
mightiest  advances.  In  these  historical  circumstances  we  find 
then  a  significant  'point  d'appui  for  the  conviction  running 
through  the  entire  book,  that  a  terrible  catastrophe  was 
shortly  to  befal  the  Persian  empire.  From  looking  beyond 
the  period  of  Xerxes  and  Ai-taxerxes  we  are  prevented  by 
the  consideration  that  then  the  collection  of  the  canonical 
scriptures  was  finally  completed  ;  and  no  book  or  part  of  a 
book  can  be  shown  to  have  had  a  later  origin.  Another  circum- 
stance also  leads  us  to  fix  on  this  time,  namely,  that  this 
book  has  strong  points  of  afiinity  with  other  productions 
which  then  appeared,  especially  with  the  prophecies  of  Malachi, 
who  flourished  during  the  reign  of  Artaxerxes.  The  peculiar 
resemblance  between  Ecclesiastes  v.  5,  and  Malachi  ii.  7,  is 
in  itself  startling.  But  of  much  more  decided  importance  is 
their  agreement  in  reference  to  the  inner  condition  of  the 
people.  Both  wiiters  draw  attention  to  the  superficial  and 
external  spirit,  the  self-righteousness,  and  to  the  germs  of 
Pharisaism  which  were  then  in  operation,  so  that  in  this 
respect  no  two  others  stand  so  nearly  related  to  each  other  as 
these.  With  the  remarks  'we  have  made  in  reference  to 
Ecclesiastes  compare  our  observations  on  Malachi  in  the 
"  Christology,"  part  iii.,  which  are  to  the  foilowiDg  efiect : 
"  Immediately  after  the  reproaches  uttered  by  the  Prophet 
follows  regularly  an  inquiry  on  the  part  of  those  who  are 
upbraided  as  to  how  they  have  merited  such  treatment :  and 
then  comes  the  Prophet's  further  and  fuller  exposition.  To 
regard  punishment  in  this  light  is  essentially  the  tendency  of 
that  Pelagian  blindness  which  knows  neither  God  nor  itself 
No  better  delineation  of  the  constancy  with  which  this  ten- 
dency remains  true  to  itself  could  be  given  than  that  which 
is  afforded  by  the  repetition  of  the  same  question  through 
the  whole  book.  Pharisaism,  in  its  main  features,  was 
already  in  existence  when  Malachi  spoke.  Consider  only 
the  predominance  of  the  priestly  order,  the  total  w^ant  of 
deeper  knowledge  of  the  nature  of  sin  and  righteousness,  the 
boasting  of  external  obedience  to  law,  the  thirst  after  judg- 


INTRODUCTION.  1 1 

ments  on  the  heathen,  who  are  alone  regarded  as  the  object 
of  divine  retribution,  and,  lastly,  the  murmurs  against  God, 
and  the  truth  of  our  remarks  will  be  apparent."  The  words, 
"Be  not  righteous  overmuch"  (chap.  vii.  16),  find  their  - 
proper  comment  in  Malachi  iii.  7,  where  the  people  are  re- 
presented as  replying  to  the  summons,  "  Keturn  to  the  Lord," 
and  saying,  "Wherein  shall  we  return?*'  on  which  Abar- 
banel  remarks — impudenter  dicitis  acsi  nesciatis  peccatum. 
aut  iniquitatem.  In  Malachi  the  people  consider  themselves 
clear  as  to  their  own  performances,  it  is  only  God  who  is 
behind-hand  in  His.  To  the  reproach  (chap.  v.  3-5)  regard- 
ing the  bad  fulfilment  of  vows — a  thing  perfectly  natural  in 
such  a  condition,  seeing  that  a  dead  orthodoxy  can  never 
overcome  a  living  selfishness — corresponds  what  Malachi  says 
chap  i  8.  "  And  if  ye  offer  the  blind  for  sacrifice,  i^  it  not 
evil?  and  if  ye  offer  the  lame  and  sick,  is  it  not  evil?" 
i.  1 4,  also,  "  Cursed  be  the  deceiver  which  hath  in  his  flock 
a  male,  and  when  he  hath  a  vow  sacrificeth  unto  tlie  Lord  a 
corrupt  thing."  Moroseness  and  discontent  with  the  arrange- 
ments of  God's  providence  we  encounter  in  Malachi  ii.  17, 
"  You  weary  the  Lord  with  your  words  :  yet  ye  say,  wherein 
do  we  weary  Him?  In  that  you  say, — every  one  that 
doeth  evil  is  good  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  and  He  delighteth 
in  them  ;  or,  where  is  the  God  of  judgment  ?"  How  strong 
a  hold  avarice  had  taken  of  their  souls  is  clear  from  Malachi 
iii.  8,  where  they  are  accused  of  having  cheated  God  in  the 
matter  of  tithes  and  offerings.  Finally,  with  the  unfavour- 
able picture  of  the  interaal  condition  of  the  nation  drawn 
ftom  the  book  of  Ecclesiastes  accords  perfectly  the  super- 
scription to  the  prophecies  of  Malachi — "  This  is  the  burden 
which  the  Lord  vitters  against  Israel  by  Malachi :"  a  super- 
scription which  would  not  be  at  all  appropriate  to  those  of 
Haggai  and  Zechariah,  the  immediate  predecessors  of  Malachi. 
In  equal  accordance  also  is  the  circumstance  that  Malachi  so 
emphatically  announces  the  approaching  judgment. 

Ewald-has  advanced  a  twofold  argument  against  assigning 
the  composition  of  this  book  to  the  time  of  Ezra  and  Nehe- 
miah,  and  in  favour  of,  "the  last  century  of  the  Persian 
dominion."  The  first  is,  that  the  writer  complains,  "  in  an 
entirely  new  and  unheard  of  manner,  of  an  excess  of  book- 


1 2  INTRODUCTION. 

making  and  reading."  It  cannot,  however,  be  shown,  that  a 
difference  in  this  respect  existed  between  the  last  century  and 
the  last  but  one  of  the  Persian  rule  :  and  to  a  time  subse- 
quent to  this,  it  is  by  no  means  allowable  to  look.  For  fur- 
,  ther  remarks,  we  refer  to  our  comments  on  chap.  xii.  1 2.  The 
\  second  reason  urged,  is  that  "  such  harrowing  pain,  and  des- 
perate cries  of  agony  did  not  characterise  the  earlier  period  of 
the  Persian  inile."  It  must  have  become,  Ewald  thinks,  in  its 
last  years,  more  oppressive  and  violent.  On  this  matter,  how- 
ever, history  furnishes  no  authentic  information.  Nor  must 
we  allow  ourselves  to  be  led  away  by  the  special  mention 
made,  in  the  canonical  records  of  the  time,  of  occasional 
brighter  spots  in  the  history  of  the  nation  whilst  subject  to 
the  Persian  yoke  ; — such  as,  for  example,  the  permission  given 
by  CyAis  to  rebuild  the  Temple,  and  that  accorded  by  Artax- 
erxes  for  the  building  of  the  wall  of  the  city.  It  was  rather 
in  accordance  with  the  peculiar  purpose  of  these  books,  to  lay 
stress  on  such  things,  in  proof  that  the  Jews  were  still  the 
chosen  people,  and  that  God's  grace  continued  to  watch  over 
them.  If  we  keep  in  mind  that  what  is  said  in  chap.  x.  20, 
indicating  that  writers  were  obliged  to  maintain  a  certain 
degree  of  reserve,  holds  true  also  of  other  works  composed 
during  the  time  of  the  Persian  dominion  ;  and  if  we  carefully 
gather  up  scattered  hints,  it  will  appear  that  the  people  were 
from  the  commencement  in  an  extremely  oppressed  position, 
that  they  led  a  cramped  existence,  that  deep  sadness  fiUed 
all  hearts,  and  that  to  sink  themselves  in  God  was  the  only 
remedy  against  despair. 

The  characteristic  tone  of  those  "  Pilgrim  Songs,"  whi«h 
belong  to  the  time  immediately  subsequent  to  the  deliverance 
from  exile,  to  the  years  when  the  building  of  the  Temple  was 
interrupted,  is  one  of  deep  sadness,  which  has  found  consola- 
tion in  God.  In  Psalm  cxxiii.  3,  4,  we  read,  "  Have  mercy 
upon  us,  O  Lord,  have  mercy  upon  us  ;  for  we  are  exceedingly 
filled  with  contempt.  Our  soul  is  exceedingly  filled  with  the 
scorning  of  those  that  are  at  ease,  and  with  the  contempt  of 
I  the  proud."  The  proud  and  such  as  live  in  security,  are  no 
f  other  than  their  Persian  tyrants.  Again,  in  Psalm  xxv.  3,  we 
read,  '"  For  the  sceptre  of  wickedness  shall  not  rest  on  the  lot 
of  the  righteous,  lest  the  righteous  put  forth  their  hands  unto 


IKTRODUCTION.  1 3 

iniquity."  The  sceptre  of  wickedness  is  the  Persian  dominion,  ■■ 
which  was  so  pertinacious  and  cruel  in  its  outrages  and  pro- 
vocations, that  the  chosen  people  were  sorely  tempted  to  fall 
into  utter  perplexity  about  God's  dealings,  to  apostatise  from 
Him  their  Lord,  and  to  become  partakers  in  the  wickedness 
of  the  wicked.  The  very  same  temptation  presents  itself  to 
our  notice  in  chap.  viii.  1 1  of  this  book.  In  Psalm  cxxvi.  5,  6, 
it  is  said,  "  They  that  sow  in  tears  shall  reap  in  joy.  They  who 
go  forth  weeping  bearing  the  seed-train  come  again  with  re- 
joicing, bringing  their  sheaves  with  them."  Those  who  sow  in 
tears  are  themselves.  The  present  has  only  tears  :  joy  belongs 
to  the  future,  to  the  region  of  hope.  Finally,  Psalm  cxxx. 
begins  with  the  words,  "  Out  of  the  depths  do  I  cry  unto  thee, 
O  Lord."  Not  without  cause  has  the  Church  set  this  apart  as 
a  funereal  Psalm.  It  is  the  cry  for  help  sent  up  by  Israel 
when  encompassed  with  the  bands  of  death. 

The  words  of  chap.  vii.  7,  "a  gift  destroyeth  the  heart," 
and  of  chap.  x.  19,  "Money  answereth  all  things,"  find  their 
explanation  and  justification  in  chap.  iv.  5  of  the  book  of  Ezra, 
where  the  Persian  officials  are  clearly  charged  with  being  open 
to  bribes  ; — "  and  hired  counsellors  against  them  to  frustrate 
their  purpose,  all  the  days  of  Cyrus  King  of  Persia,  even  until 
the  reign  of  Darius,"on  which  Michaelis  remarks,  "  mercede 
conducebant,  qui  pecunm  a  Cuthosis  accepta  auctoritate  sua 
effecerunt  ne  Judads  nunc  pergere  liceret"  And  in  chap.  ix. 
7,  of  the  same  book,  the  state  of  the  Jews  under  their  heath- 
enish oppressors,  which  still  continued,  is  described  as  one  of 
extreme  wretchedness  : — "  they  were  delivered  over  to  spoil 
and  confusion  of  face;"  through  the  mission  of  Ezra  they 
received  a  little  life  in  their  bondage.  "  We  are  bondsmen," 
it  is  said  in  ver.  9,  "  but  our  God  has  not  forsaken  us  in  our 
bondage." 

According  to  Nehemiah  i.  3,  news  is  brought  to  Nehemiah 
from  Jerusalem,  "that  the  remnant  in  the  country  are  in 
great  afiiiction  and  reproach."  What  utter  poverty  was  the 
result  of  the  oppressive  tribute,  from  which,  according  to 
Ezra  vii.  24,  only  the  Priests  and  Levites  were  exempt,  is 
plain  from  Nehemiah  v.  4,  where  such  as  had  been  reduced  to 
personal  bondage  by  the  usurers,  address  Nehemiah  in  the 
words    "  We  have  borrowed  money  for  the  king's  taxes  on  our 


1 4  INTRODUCTION. 

lands  and  vineyards  ;" — their  produce  consequently  was  not 
sufficient  to  pay  the  high  imposts.  In  chap.  v.  15,  Nehemiah 
relates  that  "the  former  governors  who  had  been  before  him" 
— ^who  were  without  doubt  Gentiles,  for,  as  it  appears,  Seru- 
babel  and  Nehemiah  were  the  only  Jews  who  had  held  that 
office — "had  been  burdensome  to  the  people,  and  had  taken 
from  them  bread  and  wine,  besides  forty  shekels  of  silvei', 
(daily ;)  their  servants  also  had  used  violence  towards  the 
people :  but  so  did  not  I  because  of  the  fear  of  God."  1LD^E^' 
Dj?n  ^y  compai'e  Ecclesiastes  viii.  9,  "a  flay  when  one  man 
exercises  power  over  another  to  his  hurt."  In  chap.  v.  18, 
Nehemiah  says,  "The  bread  of  the  governor  have  I  not  required, 
because  the  service  was  heavy  upon  this  people  : "  it  was 
already  heavily  enough  burdened  with  the  taxes  which  it  had 
to  pay  to  its  tyrant  rulers.  At  the  solemnization  of  the  Feast 
of  Tabernacles  under  Nehemiah,  we  read  (chap.  viii.  9,)  that 
'Ezra,  said  to  the  people,  "  this  day  is  holy  to  the  Lord  your 
God  :  therefore  mourn  not,  nor  weep."  For  all  the  people,  it 
is  observed,  wept  "  when  they  heard  the  words  of  the  law," — 
words  which  had  found  such  a  sad  fulfilment  in  their  present 
misery.  The  description  given  in  Nehemiah  ix.  36-37,  is  of 
itself  a  sufficient  proof  that  the  circumstances  alluded  to  in 
Ecclesiastes  are  in  no  respect  more  sad  and  glocmiy  than  those 
of  the  time  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah.  There  the  existence  of 
the  people  appears  to  be  entirely  precarious  :  they  have  only 
so  much  as  is  left  them  after  the  utterly  lawless,  unjust  and 
arbitrary  exactions  of  their  oppressors.  Not  only  does  the 
produce  of  their  lands  stand  at  their  disposal,  but  the  cattle, 
and  even  the  men  themselves  must  do  service  whenever  their 
heathen  tyrants  please  to  claim  it :  "  and  over  our  bodies  do 
they  rule,  and  over  our  cattle,  as  they  please,  and  we  are  in 
great  distress."  In  consequence  o^f  their  wretched  condition, 
religious  indifference  had  gained  gTound  amongst  the  people  ; 
the  spirit  of  sacrifice  had  died  out ;  and  the  portion  of  the 
Levites  was  not  given  to  them,  so  that  they  fled,  every  man 
to  his  own  lands,  and  the  house  of  God  was  forsaken,  (Neh. 
xiii.  1 0-1 1  ;)  the  Sabbath  was  in  many  ways  desecrated  (xiii. 
15-22,)  and  an  usurious  disposition  gained  the  upper-hand 
amongst  the  people,  in  that  every  man  believed  himself  forced 
to  care  for  himself,  (chap,  v.) 


INTRODUCTION.  1 5 

The  Book  of  Esther  presents  a  picture  of  the  Persian  Em- 
pire in  a  state  of  deep  moral  degradation,  the  direct  result  of 
which  was  "  oppression,"  (Eccles.  vii.  7,)  and  violence.  Every- 
thing was  dependent  on  the  humours  of  the  king  and  his 
great  officers.  All  moral  considerations  were  disregarded  ;  and 
there  was  recognised  no  higher  standard  than  the  pleasure  of 
the  king.  The  Book  of  Esther  furnishes  vouchers  for  the 
complaints  in  Ecclesiastes  of  the  drunkenness  of  the  tyrants,  of 
the  unbounded  influence  of  money  :  Haman  urged  as  a  reason 
for  the  destruction  of  the  Jews,  that  it  would  bring  ten 
thousand  talents  of  silver  into  the  treasury. 

The  arguments  brought  forward  by  Ewald  to  prove  that 
this  book  was  written  towards  the  close  of  the  Persian  rule, 
are  thus  shown  to  be  untenable,  unsound.  On  the  other 
hand,  even  Ewald  himself  is  compelled  to  acknowledge  that 
"  of  all  biblical  books  Malachi's  prophecies  bear  the  closest 
resemblance  to  Ecclesiastes." 

What  are  we  to  say  now  regarding  the  plaii  of  the  book, 
which  under  such  circumstances  was  meant  to  exercise  an 
influence  on  the  people  of  God  ?  Herder  has  given  the  right 
answer  to  this  question.  "  Theologians,"  says  he,  "  have 
taken  great  pains  to  ascertain  the  plan  of  the  book  ;  but  the 
best  course  is  to  make  as  free  a  use  of  it  as  one  can,  and  for 
such  a  purpose  the  individual  parts  will  serve."  A  connected  1 
and  orderly  argument,  an  elaborate  arrangement  of  parts,  is 
as  little  to  be  looked  for  here  as  in  the  special  portion  of  the 
Book  of  Proverbs  which  begins  with  chapter  x.,  or  as  in  the 
alphabetical  Psalms.  Such  matters  of  plan  and  connection 
have  been  thrust  into  the  book  by  interpreters  who  were 
incapable  of  passing  out  of  their  own  circle  of  ideas,  as  by 
degrees  became  evident  from  the  fact  that  no  one  of  these 
arrangements  gained  anything  like  general  recognition,  but 
tha.t  on  the  contrary  each  remained  the  sole  propBrty  of  its 
originator  and  of  his  slavish  followers.  Cax£zov  betrays  a 
narrow  estimate  of  Inspiration  when,  in  his  "  Introduction," 
he  speaks  of  it  as  necessarily  implying  and  producing  the 
"  ordo  concinnus!'  The  same  limitation  of  view  is  charge- 
able also  upon  certain  more  recent  writers,  who  think  that 
a  definite  plan  must  be  found  in  the  book  in  order  to  save 
the  credit  of  the  author.      It  is  a  part  of  the  peculiarity   of 


1 G  INTRODUCTION. 

the  "book  to  have  no  such  plan  :  and  this  characteristic  greatly 
conduces  to  the  breadth  of  its  views  and  the  variety  of  its 
modes  of  representation.  The  thread  which  connects  all  the 
parts  together  is  simply  the  pervading  reference  to  the  cir- 
cumstances and  moods,  the  necessities  and  grievances  of  the 
time.  This  it  is  that  gives  it  unity :  and  its  author  sets  a 
good  example  to  all  those  who  are  called  to  address  the  men 
of  our  own  generation  in  that  he  never  soars  away  into  the 
clouds,  nor  wastes  his  time  in  general  reflections  and  com- 
mon-places, but  keeps  constantly  in  view  the  very  Jews  who 
were  then  groaning  under  Persian  tyranny,  to  whose  sick  souls 
it  was  his  first  duty  to  administer  the  wholesome  medicine 
with  which  God  had  entrusted  him  :  by  ever  fresh  strokes 
and  features  he  depicts  their  condition  to  them,  little  by  little 
he  communicates  the  wisdom  that  is  from  above,  and  in  the 
varying  turns  of  his  discourse  sets  before  them  constantly 
the  most  important  and  essentially  saving  truths.  It  is  quite 
misleading  to  represent  the  work  as  occupied  with  a  single 
nari'ow  theme,  as  for  example  Knobel  does  when  he  says  that 
"the  affirmation  of  the  vanity  of  human  life  and  human  en- 
deavours forms  the  subject  of  the  book."  Such  also  is  Keil]s 
mistake,  who  says  (see  Havernick's  "  Introduction,")  "  The 
aim  of  the  book  is  to  teach  how  to  enjoy  life  truly,  that  is, 
how  to  realise  in  life  that  solid  pleasure  of  which  content- 
ment and  piety  are  constituent  elements."  A  superficial 
glance  at  its  contents  will  amply  show  that  they  are  of  far 
too  rich  and  varied  a  nature  to  be  comprehended  under  one 
such  single  theme.  And  if  we  are  determined  that  the  book 
shall  have  one  leading  topic,  we  must  give  it  as  wide  and 
general  a  scope  as  the  author  himself  does  in  the  words  of 
chap.  xii.  ]  8,  "  Fear  God."  To  further  the  fear  of  God  and 
life  in  Him  is  the  great  purpose  of  the  writer  in  all  that  he 
advances :  *  hence  his  assertion  of  the  vanity  of  all  earthly 
things,  for  he  alone  can  fully  appreciate  what  a  precious 
treasure  man  has  in  God,  who  has  learnt  by  living  experi- 
ence the  truth,  "  Vanity  of  vanities,  all  is  vanity." 

Let  us  now  pass  to  a  more  careful  examination  of  the  con- 
tents of  the  book.  Written  in  the  midst  of  circumstances 
such  as  have  been  just  described,  its  tone  is  partly  one  of 
consolation,  and  partly  one  of  admonition  and  reproof,  so  that 


INTRODUCTION.  1 7 

in  it  maybe  discerned  "the  rebuke  of  the  wise,"  (chap.  vii.  5.) 
Nor  is  it  by  accident  that  the  author  girds  himself  first  of  all 
to  the  discharge  of  his  office  as  a  comforter,  using  therein  all 
diligence.  His  prime  object  was  to  turn  the  hearts  of  the 
people  again  to  God,  for  notwithstanding  its  great  weaknesses 
it  was  still  God's  heritage,  and  in  its  midst  God  had  His 
dwelling-place.  Only  when  this  end  had  been  attained  could 
a  hearing  be  gained  for  admonitions  and  reproofs.  The  people 
had  fallen  into  error  regarding  God  and  His  ways,  and  this 
was  the  real  root  of  their  moral  corruption, — on  this  account 
were  the  hearts  of  the  children  of  men  fully  set  to  do  evil, 
(chap.  viii.  11.) 

The  manner  in  which  the  author  opens  his  mission  of  con- 
solation may  at  first  sight  strike  us  as  somewhat  singular: 
from  all  sides  there  rose  the  complaint,  "  vanity  of  vanities," — 
how  evil  are  our  times  compared  with  earlier  ones,  especially  as 
compared  with  the  glorious  days  of  Solomon?  Then  the 
writer  breaks  in  with  the  proclamation,  that  the  life  of  man  is 
altogether  vanity,  that  this  world  is  a  vale  of  tears,  that  the 
difference  between  happy  and  troublous  times  is  much  less 
decided  than  it  appears  on  a  superficial  examination,  (chap.  i. 
2-11.)  The  cross  is  much  easier  to  bear  when  it  is  seen  to  be 
the  universal  destiny  of  man.  From  chap.  i.  1 2,  to  the  end 
of  chap,  ii.,  Solomon,  whom  the  writer  introduces  as  the 
speaker,  shows  from  his  own  example  and  experience,  the 
emptiness  of  everything  earthly.  He  begins  with  wisdom. 
This  was  one  of  the  splendid  possessions  of  the  age  of  Solomon, 
upon  which  the  after-world  looked  back  in  astonished  admira- 
tion and  with  painful  yearnings  :  and  all  the  more  earnestly, 
because  this  had  been  imposing,  even  in  the  eyes  of  that  Gen- 
tile world,  beneath  whose  contempt  and  scorn  they  now  sighed. 
From  wisdom,  Solomon  then  turns  to  the  possession  and  en- 
joyment of  the  good  things  of  this  world.  Eveiywhere  the 
author  discovers  the  hollo wness  which  lies  concealed  beneath 
glitter  and  show,  the  pain  which  is  covered  by  the  mask  of 
pleasure.  In  this  way,  he  tears  up  envy  and  discontent  by 
the  roots,  and  exhorts  his  fellow  countrymen  to  seek  elsewhere 
their  happiness,  to  draw  it  from  those  inexhaustible  eternal 
fountains,  which  even  at  that  time  were  open  to  all  who  chose 
to  come. 


1 8  INTRODUCTION. 

In  other  places  also  the  author  offers  to  his  unhappy  con- 
temporaries the  consolation  which  is  derivable  from  a  just 
estimate  of  earthly  possessions.  He  exhibits  most  earnestness 
and  keenness  in  unmasking  the  hollowness  of  those  riches  for 
the  sake  of  which  the  Gentile  world  was  an  object  of  envy. 
"Man's  life  consisteth  not  in  the  abundance  of  the  things 
which  he  possesseth,"  is  the  theme  of  which  he  treats  in  chap, 
vi.  4  ; — "  Riches  expose  to  envy  and  involve  in  uneasiness" 
is  the  text  of  chap.  iv.  7-12,  chap.  v.  9-19,  and  of  the  whole 
of  chap,  vi.  Here  are  to  be  found  the  properly  classical  pas- 
sages of  Holy  Scripture,  on  which  may  be  based  a  trae  esti- 
mate of  riches.  Nowhere  else  is  the  vanity  of  riches  exposed 
with  such  depth  of  penetration,  with  such  fulness  of  detail, 
with  such  caustic  pungency.  After  laying  bare  the  vanity  of 
riches,  he  proceeds  to  show  the  prevalence  of  folly  and  falsity 
in  the  government  of  kingdoms,  (chap.  iv.  13-16.) 

Hand  in  hand  with  the  exposure  of  the  vanity  of  what  was 
mourned  as  lost,  attention  is  directed  to  sources  of  joy  still 
remaining  open  to  the  people  of  God,  even  in  its  poverty- 
stricken  state,  and  out  of  which  it  is  bound  thankfully  to  draw. 
Life  itself  is  a  noble  possession,,  (chap.  xi.  7,  8  ;)  and  the  godly 
heart  may  still  always  find  in  it  a  multitude  of  lesser  joys,  of 
which  it  is  its  duty,  living  only  for  the  present  moment,  to 
avail  itself  in  freedom  from  care  and  covetousness,  (chap.  ii. 
24  ;  iii.  12,  22  ;  viii.  15  ;  xi.  9,  10.)  Despite  all  their  losses 
in  wealth  and  power,  they  may  continue  to  "  eat,  drink  and 
be  glad." 

But  that  consolation  which  springs  from  setting  a  true  value 
on  earthly  happiness  and  earthly  endowments  is  not  sufficient 
by  itself  For  on  the  one  hand,  however  little  importance  is 
to  be  attached  to  earthly  good  in  itself,  God  gave  a  pledge 
to  His  people  in  the  earliest  days  of  its  existence,  that  He 
would  never  forsake  nor  neglect  it,  even  as  regards  external 
matters,  and  it  must  therefore  give  rise  to  doubts  of  God's 
omnipotence  and  love  if  no  evidence  can  be  adduced  of  the 
fulfilment  of  His  promises.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  it  was 
not  a  question  here  merely  of  lower  blessings  and  possessions. 
The  real  sting  of  the  gxief  was  the  prostrate  position  of  the 
people  of  God,  the  crying  contradiction  existing  between  its 
inward  idea  and  its  outward  manifestation,  between  the  word 


INTRODUCTION.  1 9 

of  God  and  the  realities  around  them.  Koheleth  must  there- 
fore open  up  new  fountains  of  comfort  if  his  mission  of  con- 
solation is  to  be  satisfactorily  fulfilled. 

In  chap.  iii.  1-15,  he  comforts  the  poor  and  wretched  who 
seek  water  and  find  it  not,  by  directing  their  thoughts  to  the 
all-superintending  providence  of  God,  "who  maketh  everything 
beautiful  in  its  time,"  who  even  in  days  of  suffei'ing  has 
thoughts  of  peace,  from  whom  it  behoves  to  accept  everything 
without  reluctance  because  whatever  He  does  is  done  well, 
whose  beneficent  hand  is  upon  us  even  when  we  fail  to  see  it, 
and  who  will  at  last  bring  all  things  to  a  glorious  termination. 
The  writer  exhorts  men  also  in  chap.  vii.  13,  14,  to  commit 
themselves  to  the  fatherly  care  of  God  who  proceeds  ever  on 
the  wisest  method. 

So  repeatedly  and  emphatically  does  the  author  refer  to  an 
exaltation  of  Israel  impending  in  the  immediate  future,  to  the 
revelation  of  the  retributive  righteousness  of  God,  to  the  change 
of  relative  positions  which  their  king  was  about  to  introduce 
on  a  large  scale,  that  we  may  regard  it  as  one  of  the  prominent 
ideas  of  the  book.  In  chap.  iii.  16,  17,  he  expatiates  on  the 
thought  that  so  certainly  as  there  is  a  righteous  God  in 
Heaven,  who  watches  over  the  maintenance  of  His  laws  and 
order  upon  earth,  so  certainly  must  the  disorder  which  charac- 
terised the  tyrannies  of  heathendom  come  to  an  end,  and  Israel, 
which,  notwithstanding  the  false  seed  that  had  been  mixed  up 
with  it,  was  stiR  God's  people,  the  congregation  of  the 
"righteous"  and  "upright,"  lift  up  its  head  amongst  the  nations. 
In  chap.  V.  7,  8,  he  teaches  that  the  heavenly  King  and  Judge 
will  bring  all  things  again  into  order  at  the  proper  time. 
According  to  chap.  vii.  5-10,  the  prosperity  of  the  world  is 
the  precursor  of  impending  destruction :  the  people  of  God 
on  the  contrary  will  receive  its  best  portion  at  the  end,  if  it 
only  exercise  patience  and  wait  on  the  leadings  of  divine 
providence.  According  to  chap.  viii.  5-8,  and  9-18,  God  will 
one  day  deliver  His  own,  punish  their  oppressors,  and  no  power 
in  the  world  will  be  able  to  interrupt  the  course  of  His  judg- 
ments. According  to  chap.  ix.  7-10,  God  takes  pleasure  in 
the  works  of  His  own  people,  and  therefore  at  the  proper  time 
the  now  failing  recompence  will  be  effected.  In  chap.  ix.  11, 
1  2,  we  are  reminded  that  sudden  catastrophes  very  frequently 


20  INTRODUCTION. 

cast  down  to  the  ground  that  which  had  exalted  itself.  In 
chap.  X.  5-1 0, it  is  foretold  that  at  some  future  day  God  will  take 
away  the  reproach  which  is  offered  by  the  humiliation  of  His 
own  people,  and  by  the  triumph  of  the  world.  Several  pas- 
sages hint  still  more  definitely  at  the  imminent  downfall  of 
the  Persian  Empire  :  as  for  example,  chap.  vi.  2,  where  the 
stranger  who  will  consume  the  wealth  of  the  rich  man,  is  the 
successor  of  the  Persian  on  the  throne  of  the  world  ;  and 
chap.  vi.  3,  where  the  words  "  and  he  shall  have  no  burial,"  set 
before  the  Persians  the  prospect  of  a  mighty  and  bloody  over- 
throw ;  and  chap.  vii.  6,  where  the  prosperity  of  the  Per- 
sians is  compared  to  a  fire  of  crackling  thorns  which  blazes 
violently  up,  but  is  quickly  extinguished;  and  ver.  7,  where 
the  demoralization  of  the  Persians,  a  result  of  their  exercise  of 
tyrannical  power,  is  represented  as  the  herald  of  their  speedy 
destruction.  Of  the  same  tendency  are  chap.  x.  1-3,  where 
the  writer  dwells  on  the  thought,  that  whenever  folly  prevails 
as  it  did  at  that  time  amongst  the  Persians,  ruin  cannot  be  far 
off:  also  chap.  x.  11-20,  where  the  moral  decay  of  the  Per- 
sians, which  had  now  reached  its  extreme  point,  is  conceived 
to  portend  a  swift  extinction  ;  and  lastly,  chap.  xi.  3,  which 
teaches  that  the  storm  of  divine  wrath  will  soon  uproot  and 
cast  down  the  haughty  tree  of  the  Persian  Empire  :  "  When 
the  clouds  are  full  of  rain,  they  empty  themselves  upon  the 
earth  ;  and  if  a  tree  falls,  be  it  in  the  south  or  be  it  in  the 
north,  in  the  place  where  it  falleth  there  shall  it  be." 

That  a  great  change  would  at  some  future  day  take  place 
in  the  position  of  affairs,  the  people  of  God  might  hope 
with  the  gi-eater  confidence,  because  they  continued  to  possess 
the  wisdom  which  is  from  above — not  the  glittering  and  bril- 
liant wisdom  of  the  age  of  Solomon,  but  the  secret  and  hidden 
wisdom  peculiar  to  the  children  of  God,  of  which  they  alone 
amongst  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  were  the  depositaries. 
This  advantage  over  others  was  of  itself  a  pledge  of  their 
future  victory  over  the  world.  The  Gentile  nations  are  fool- 
ish because  they  are  left  to  the  guidance  of  their  own  reason, 
and  are  cut  off  from  the  source  of  all  wisdom.  But  in  the 
midst  of  Israel,  on  the  contrary,  the  nation  of  revelation,  to 
which  God  had  made  known  His  nature  and  will,  thus  de- 
livering it  from  the  sophistries  by  whose  chains  the  natural 


INTRODUCTION.  21 

man  has  been  completely  bound  ever  since  the  Fall,  wisdom 
has  established  its  abode.  At  the  fitting  time,  too,  power 
must  certainly  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  wisdom.  According 
to  ciiap.  vii.  11,  12,  wisdom  and  Ufe  go  hard  in  hand.  On 
this  ground,  Israel  may  comfort  itself  even  in  death.  Accord- 
ing to  chap.  vii.  19,  20,  wisdom  is  the  only  defence  against 
divine  judgments,  because  it  alone  preserves  fi^om  sins  which 
inevitably  draw  judgments  in  their  train.  In  chap.  ix.  1 3-1 8, 
the  theme  is  discussed, — wisdom,  the  treasure  that  remains, 
is  nobler  than  the  strength  which  is  lost:  "wisdom  is  better 
than  weapons  of  war,  and  one  sinner  destroys  much  good." 

Still,  to  point  attention  merely  to  a  future  reconciliation  to 
be  brought  about  between  reahzation  and  idea,  between  the 
destiny  assigned  to  the  people  of  God  and  its  actual  visible 
condition,  was  not  a  full  discharge  of  the  writer's  mission  of 
consolation.  His  business  was  further  to  open  to  his  fellow- 
countrymen  an  insight  into  the  causes  of  the  temporal  dis- 
turbances of  the  true  and  normal  relations  of  things,  for  until 
it  was  shown  to  have  an  adequate  gTOund  and  reason,  it 
would  be  impossible  to  look  forward  with  any  confidence  to 
a  final  restoration.  If  God  is  capable  in  any  sense  or  degree 
of  being  unrighteous  and  hard  towards  the  people  of  His 
choice,  towards  those  whom  He  had  pledged  himself  to  love, 
the  fear  that  He  might  continue  so  to  the  end  would  present 
itself  again  and  again  with  fi-esh  force. 

The  fii-st  thing  to  be  learnt  is  to  recognise  in  temporal 
afflictions  the  ordainments  of  that  divine  righteousness  which 
cannot  leave  even  the  sin  of  its  own  children  unpunished; — 
nay  more,  which  must  discover  itself  especially  in  its  treat- 
ment of  them,  as  those  who  by  God's  gi-ace  "know  how  to 
waUc  before  the  living,"  (chap.  vi.  8.)  Tliis  is  as  certain  as 
that  the  servant  who  knows  his  Lord's  will  and  doeth  it  not 
shaU  be  beaten  with  many  stripes;  as  that  God  will  fulfil 
what  is  said  in  Leviticus  x.  3 :  "I  will  be  sanctified  in  them 
that  come  nigh  me;"  as  that  it  is  said  (Amos  iii.  2):  "You 
only  have  I  known  of  all  the  famihes  of  the  earth,  therefore  I 
visit  upon  you  aU  your  iniquities,"  and  "Judgment  mvist 
begin  at  the  house  of  God."  The  author  leads  his  sorrowing 
and  afflicted  people  to  this  at  once  painful  and  consolatoiy 
point  of  view  in  chap.  vii.  21,  22.     He  works  also  indirectly 


22  INTRODUCTION. 

towards  this  end  whenever  he  lays  bare  their  sins  before  the 
eyes  of  the  people.  Their  duty  was  to  be  content  with  God, 
to  see  light  and  justice  in  His  providential  arrangements,  in 
the  same  degTee  in  which  they  were  dissatisfied  with  them- 
selves. When  the  writer,  in  chap.  iv.  17 — v.  6,  reproaches 
the  nation  with  a  superficial  piety,  which  sought  to  satisfy 
God  by  sacrifices  instead  of  honouiing  Him  with  obedience 
to  His  laws,  which  endeavoured  to  substitute  high  sounding 
words  for  the  lacking  devotion,  and  which  acted  frivolously 
in  respect  of  vows:  and  when  further,  in  chap.  vii.  15-18,  he 
demonstrates  that  the  pretended  "  righteousness "  of  Israel, 
that  foundation  of  its  proud  claims,  when  more  closely  exa- 
mined proves  to  be  but  another  form  of  godlessness,  and 
points  to  the  open  apostacy  of  which  they  were  at  the  same 
time  guilty,  he  furnishes  the  people  with  the  key  to  their 
troubles,  and  throws  light  upon  the  arrangements  of  God, 
which  hitherto  through  the  want  of  self-knowledge  had  been 
enshrouded  it  darkness.  He  thus  treads  in  the  footsteps  of 
Moses,  who  drew  an  exalted  picture  of  such  a  Theodicy  in 
Deut.  xxxii,  where  his  theme  was:  "God  is  faithful  and 
without  iniquity,  just  and  upright  is  He.  Hath  He  acted 
corniptly  towards  His  people  ?  The  blot  is  on  His  sons,  a 
perverse  and  corrupt  generation." 

The  second  thing  to  be  learnt  is  to  recognise  in  sufiering 
an  ordainment  of  divine  love — to  see  that  it  is  grace  concealed 
under  the  form  of  severity,  that  there  dwells  in  it  a  refoniia- 
tory  virtue  for  all  those  who  love  God,  that  it  is  an  indispens- 
able means  of  progress  of  which  God  cannot  without  cruelty 
deprive  His  children.  "  Whom  the  Lord  loveth,  He  chastiseth." 
Where  is  there  a  father  who  does  not  chastise  his  son? 
Koheleth  directs  the  attention  of  his  sorrowing  people  to  this 
sweet  kernel  which  lay  hidden  within  the  bitter  husk  of 
affliction,  in  chap.  vii.  2-4:  "  It  is  better  to  go  to  the  house  of 
mourning  than  to  the  house  of  feasting.  Soitow  is  better 
than  laughter,  for  by  the  sadness  of  the  countenance  the  heart 
is  made  better.  The  heart  of  the  wise  is  in  the  house  of 
mourning,  but  the  heart  of  fools  is  in  the  house  of  mirth." 
Suffering  gives  the  peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness  to  such  as 
are  exercised  thereby.  The  same  purpose  is  subserved  by 
chap.  iii.  18,  "I  said  in  my  heart,  For  the  sake  of  the  children 


INTRODUCTION.  23 

of  men  such  things  happen,  in  order  that  God  may  purify 
them,  and  in  order  that  they  may  see  that  by  themselves 
they  are  beasts."  Suffering  is  a  means  of  refinement  to  the 
people  of  God,  serving  especially  to  strip  them  of  all  pride 
and  to  lead  them  to  humility.  Purification  is  the  general 
aim  of  tribulation :  but  special  mention  is  here  made  of  pWrfe 
as  the  root  and  foundation  of  sin.  That  such  is  its  character 
is  evident  even  from  the  words  which  the  Old  Serpent  whis- 
pered in  his  temptation  of  our  first  parents  :  "  In  that  day  ye 
shall  be  as  God ;"  and  by  which  he  caused  them  to  fall.  The 
greater  the  privileges  vouchsafed  by  God  to  the  nation  to 
which  He  specially  revealed  himself,  the  more  liable  was 
it  to  this  particular  form  of  sin.  From  the  same  point  of 
view,  namely,  as  a  means  of  "  hiding  pride  from  man,"  (Job 
xxxiii.  1 7)  are  afilictions  regarded  also  in  chap.  vii.  13,  14. 
God  permits  evil  days  to  alternate  with  good,  "  in  order  that 
man  may  not  find  anything  behind  himself;"  in  order  that 
he  may  not  be  able  to  fathom  in  any  measure  that  which  lies 
behind  his  present  condition,  and  still  less  arrange  any  nart 
thereof  according  to  his  own  will ;  and  finally,  in  order  that 
thus  he  may  be  fully  conscious  of  his  dependence,  may  become 
a  little  child  and  thoroughly  humble. 

In  this  manner  did  the  writer  of  Ecclesiastes  fulfil  his  mis- 
sion as  a  comforter.  Many  things  may  be  missed  here,  speci- 
ally any  definite  reference  to  Christ,  the  central  point  of  all 
consolation,  and  to  that  future  glory  with  which  the  suffer- 
ings of  this  present  time  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared,  but 
which  the  Lord  will  bestow  on  his  own  followers.  We  must 
bear  in  mind,  however,  that  the  Scriptures  are  an  organic 
whole  consisting  of  very  different  members,  and  that  it  is 
therefore  preposterous  to  expect  to  find  the  same  thing  every- 
where. To  "  wisdom,"  in  the  narrower  sense  of  that  word, 
but  a  limited  sphere  was  assigned  amongst  the  Israelites.  Its 
business  lay  not  with  what  was  hidden  but  with  that  which 
was  manifest,  not  with  the  proper  mysteries  of  the  Faith, 
which,  under  the  Old  Covenant,  belonged  to  the  domain  of 
prophecy,  but  with  the  truths  which  had  already  become 
thoroughly  a  part  of  the  consciousness  of  the  community. 
With  these  the  mind  of  thoughtful  Israelites  occupied  itself; 
these  it  sought  to  make  clear,  and  bring  home  to  the  under- 


24  INTRODUCTION. 

standing  and  tlie  heart*  The  prophecies  of  Daniel,  and  of 
the  three  post-exile  prophets,  Haggai,  Zechariah  and  Malachi, 
constitute  the  nearest  supplement  to  Koheleth. 

The  human  side  of  this  book,  as  to  which  it  belongs  to  the 
sphere  of  sacred  philosophy, — for  the  writer  does  not  profess 
himself  to  be  an  organ  of  immediate  divine  revelations, — is 
brought  to  view  especially  in  chap.  vii.  23-29,  where  the 
author  himself  reflects  on  the  way  and  manner  of  his  acquaint- 
ance with  higher  truth.  Compare  particularly  verse  25:  "I 
apphed  myself  with  my  heart  to  know  and  to  search  and  to 
seek  out  wisdom  and  thoughts,"  and  verse  27:  "  Lo,  this 
have  I  found,  said  Koheleth,  one  by  one,  finding  thoughts." 
His  method  he  describes  to  have  been  that  of  taking  separ- 
ately single  thoughts,  and  by  meditation  drawing  out  their 
fulness  and  significance.  This  is  the  reflective  and  speculative 
method,  not  that  of  direct  intuition.  That  there  is  a  higher 
degree  of  wisdom  in  its  more  general  sense,  the  degree  to 
which  a  Moses  or  an  Isaiah  arose,  who  received  truth  by 
direct  revelation,  the  writer  himself  confesses  in  chap.  vii.  28. 
But  he  does  not  for  this  reason  relinquish  the  claim  to  be 
inspired:  his  inspiration  must  be  conceived  specially  as  pre- 
serving, purifying,  and  heightening  the  natural  powers  of  his 
mind.  In  chap.  xii.  11,  he  expressly  co-ordinates  his  work 
with  the  sacred  writings,  the  distinguishing  characteristic  of 
which  in  relation  to  all  other  literary  productions  is,  as  he 
himself  states,  "  that  they  are  given  by  the  one  shepherd," 
who  ever  relieves  the  wants  of  his  people,  who  feeds  them  in 
green  pastures,  and  leads  them  by  the  fresh  waters,  and  in 
consequence  are  living  and  mighty,  laying  hold  of  heart  and 
spirit  in  their  inmost  depths.  With  this  expression  of  the 
author  all  will  agTee  whom  God's  Spirit  has  qualified  for 
forming  a  judgment  in  this  sphere.      What  Picus  of  Mirandola 

*  Oehler,  in  his  "Prolegomena  zur  Theologie  des  Alten  Testaments."  justly 
characterises  most  of  the  Hagiographa  as  "  the  product  of  the  Israelitish  mind, 
partly,  when  endeavouring,  by  feeling,  to  penetrate  into  the  depths  of  the  divine 
revelation  and  the  experiences  to  which  that  revelation  gave  rise  in  life,  and 
partly  when  musing  on  the  same,"  (page  92)  and  deduces  their  origin  (pages 
88,  89)  "  from  the  struggle  of  Hebrew  intellect  to  enter  into  the  task  assigned 
to,  and  the  view  given  of,  life  by  Mosaism,  the  effort  to  appropriate  inwardly, 
and  to  attain  to  a  thorough  understanding  of,  the  substance  of  revelation,  and 
by  reflection  to  solve  its  enigmas  and  contradictions." 


INTRODUCTION.  2o 

says  of  the  entire  sacred  Scriptures,  holds  perfectly  true  of 
this  book:  "  Nothing  so  strongly  affects  both  heart  and  judg- 
ment as  the  reading  of  Holy  Scripture,  and  yet  they  are  but 
simple  words  without  art,  which  thus  overpower  us.  These 
words,  however,  are  full  of  life,  soul,  and  fire, — they  penetrate 
deeply  into  the  spirit,  and  transform  the  whole  man."*  In 
agreement  with  the  circumstances  of  the  time  \visdom  walks 
here  in  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  in  the  utterly  unadorned 
garment  of  poverty;  but  its  words  are  as  goads  and  nails^ 
and  there  dwells  in  them  a  power  to  refresh  and  sanctify  the 
spirit  and  heart. 

The  writer's  peculiar  use  of  the  name  of  God  furnishes 
a  noteworthy  indication  that  he  deliberately  purposed  to  con- 
fine himself  to  a  circumscribed  sphere  of  thought.  Amongst 
the  Hebrew  names  of  God  Elohim  had  the  most  general 
signification  :  and  this  name  occurs  in  the  book  no  fewer  than 
thirty-nine  times,  seven  times  with,  and  thirty- two  times 
without  the  article.  Nowhere  do  we  meet  with  another  de- 
signation ;  especially,  be  it  remarked,  we  do  not  find  the 
name  Jehovah,  which  answered  to  the  fully  developed  religi- 
ous consciousness,  and  the  use  of  which  absolutely  predomi- 
nates in  the  Prophets  who  preceded  and  were  contempo- 
rary with  Koheleth.  The  writer  thus  emphatically  shows 
that  he  makes  no  pretensions  to  be  an  organ  of  direct  revela- 
tions from  God,  but  that  his  purpose  is  to  unfold  a  sacred 
philosophy. 

That  the  author  refrains  from  employing  the  designation 
Jehovah  has  been  ascribed  b}^  some  to  the  superstitious  fear 
which  the  later  Jews  had  of  giving  utterance  to  that  name. 
Such  dread,  however,  belonged  to  the  post-canonical  period : 
within  the  canon  itself  there  is  nowhere  a  trace  of  it.  Within 
the  canon  the  use  of  the  names  of  God  is  everywhere  deter- 
mined by  their  inherent  difference  of  signification,  and  it  was  a 
matter  for  the  free  choice  of  the  several  writers  which  of  the 
two  names  was  employed.  It  is  so  in  the  Pentateuch  :  it  is 
so  in  the  Psalms.t  To  the  use  of  these  names  here,  that  of 
the  book  of  Job  bears  the  nearest  resemblance :  and  with  it 


*  V,  Raumer,  Geschichte  der  Padagogik,  p.  i.,  s.  49. 
t  Compare  my  Commentary,  part  iv. 


26  INTRODUCTION. 

Koheleth  was  without  doubt  well  acquainted  *  In  the  Pro- 
logue to  the  book  of  Job  nin"'  is  generally  used  ; — as  also 
in  the  Epilogue  and  in  the  historical  remarks  which  are  in- 
terspersed. In  the  discourses  of  Job  and  his  friends,  on  the 
contrary,  the  general  names  of  God,  Eloah,  El,  &c.,  are  em- 
ployed, with  the  single  exception  of  chap.  xii.  9,  where  we 
find  Jehovah.  The  problem  before  the  writer  is  considered 
from  the  point  of  view  of  Natural  Theology  with  the  aid  of 
experience,  and  of  reason  as  purified  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 
If  the  author's  intention  was  to  treat  his  subject  from  the 
point  of  view  afforded  by  that  consciousness  of  God  which  is 
common  to  men  in  general,  then  it  was  perfectly  natural  that 
he  should  confine  his  speakers  to  the  corresponding  divine 
name.  Once  only  does  he  permit  Job  to  break  through  this 
rule,  and  then  in  order  that  the  avoidance  elsewhere  of  the 
name  Jehovah  might  be  more  distinctly  seen  to  be  inten- 
tional, and  might  not  be  traced  to  any  merely  external  rea- 
sons. The  Book  of  Nehemiah,  which  was  nearly  contempo- 
raneous with  Ecclesiastes,  also  furnishes  an  analogy.  The 
facts  of  the  case  are  presented  as  follows  by  Kleinert  in  the 
Dorpat  Beitrdge  zu  den  Theologischen  Wissenschaften,"  1.  §. 
182.  "  In  the  entire  Book  of  Nehemiah,"  (i.e.,  in  chapters 
i.-vii.  and  xi.-xiii.;  for  chapters  viii. -x.  were  written  by  Ezra, 
and  only  adopted  into  his  work  by  Nehemiah),  "  the  name 
Jehovah  occurs  only  once,  namely,  in  chap.  i.  5,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  Elohim :  besides,  Adonai  occurs  only  twice :  and 
elsewhere  Nehemiah  always  designates  God  by  the  term  Elo- 
him." In  the  Book  of  Ezra,  on  the  contrary,  and  in  chapters 
viii.-x.  of  Nehemiah,  which,  as  was  observed  before,  are  by 
Ezra,  the  name  Jehovah  predominates.  Nehemiah  wrote  as 
a  layman,  as  a  politician  mixed  up  with  the  aflfairs  of  the 
world.  His  humility  did  not  permit  him  frequently  to  take 
God's  holiest  name  upon  his  lips.  In  all  these  cases,  and  in 
Ecclesiastes  as  well,  there  was  no  absolute  necessity  for  ab- 
staining from  the  use  of  the  name  Jehovah ;  other  reasons 
might  have   decided  for  its   employment ;    but  the    authors 

*  Hitzig  remarks  in  his  Commentary,  "  The  Book  of  Job,  which,  as  to  its 
general  views  and  tendency,  is  so  nearly  related  to  Ecclesiastes,  must  undoubt- 
edly have  been  read  by  Koheleth,"  v.  14,  vii.  28.  (The  other  passages  adduced 
by  Hitzig,  viz.,  vi.  3,  vii.  14,  16,  are  less  certain). 


INTRODUCTION.  517 

were  giiided  by  such  considerations  as  seemed  to  them  to 
favour  their  abstinence. 

It  J3eing  the  purpose  of  the  writer  to  expound  a  sacred 
philosophy,  and  not  to  touch  upon  the  sphere  of  the  mysteries 
ofthe  faith,  we  might  thence  explain  why  nothing  was  said 
about  immortality  and  eternal  life,  if  this  were  actually  the 
case,  as  Rationalistic  interpreters  with  one  voice  affirm.  In 
the  course  of  our  Commentary  we  shall  plainly  show  that 
such  is  not  the  case.  According  to  chap.  iii.  11,  God  has  put 
eternity  into  the  heart  of  man  :  according  to  chap.  iii.  21,  the 
spirit  of  man  rises  upwards  at  death,  whilst  the  souls  of 
beasts  perish  with  their  bodies  ;  according  to  chap.  xii.  7,  the 
spirit  of  man  returns  at  death  to  God  who  gave  it,  in  order 
that  it  may  receive  that  which  its  deeds  have  deserved  (chap, 
xii.  14).  It  is,  however,  so  far  correct  that  the  author  main- 
tains a  gentle  reserve  in  respect  of  this  doctrine,  limiting 
himself  to  slight  though  distinct  and  unambiguous  hints,  in 
^rder  thus  not  to  pass  the  boundary  line  which  separates 
"  wisdom  "  from  prophecy.  The  comparison  of  Isaiah  xxv.  7, 
8,  xxvi.  1 9,  and  of  Daniel  xii  2,  3,  wiU  throw  light  on  this 
distinction. 

Thus  far  we  have  occupied  ourselves  only  with  the  conso- 
latory part  of  the  mission  of  Koheleth :  let  us  now  turn  our 
attention  to  its  admonitory  and  punitive  aspect. 

Several  of  the  admonitions  of  the  Preacher  are  so  general 
in  their  character,  that  they  are  equally  well  adapted  to  aU 
times.  In  chap.  xii.  13,  he  exhorts  to  the  fear  of  God  and 
the  keeping  of  his  commandments.  This  he  describes  as  a 
duty  universally  binding  upon  men,  and  as  the  only  preser- 
vative from  the  judgments  of  God  who  cannot  permit  that 
man,  whom  He  made  in  His  own  image,  should  emancipate 
himself  from  Him.  That,  says  he,  is  the  conclusion  and  sum 
of  the  whole  matter ;  this  is  the  Alpha  and  Omega  of  an  up- 
right life,  the  starting-point  and  basis  of  all  the  special 
teachings  and  exhortations  of  the  book.  "  Fear  God  " — in 
these  two  words  he  sums  up,  in  chap.  v.  7  also,  all  that  he 
has  to  say  to  his  readers.  Hand  in  hand  with  this  goes 
another  brief  saying  which  applies  to  the  faithful  of  all  times, 
namely,  "  Do  good,"  (chap.  iii.  1 2,  with  which  compare  chap, 
vii.  20).      "Remember  thy  Creator  :"  such  is  the  writer's  ex- 


28  INTRODUCTION. 

hortation  in  chap.  xii.  1,  and  the  strongest  motive  he  can 
uro-e  for  the  following  of  his  advice  is,  that  those  who  refuse 
to  listen  to  it,  being  separated  from  God,  the  source  of  all 
health,  will  have  to  mourn  in  this  world  a  misspent  existence, 
and  -after  death  will  fall  under  Divine  judgment.  The 
author  makes  repeated  and  emphatic  reference  to  the  judg- 
ment of  God  both  in  this  life  and  in  that  which  is  to  come, 
which  visits  inevitably  every  deed  however  secret ;  and  he 
shows  himself  to  be  most  livingly  penetrated  by  the  thought 
that  God  will  recompense  to  every  man  according  to  his 
works  (compare  chap.  vii.  16,  17,  xi.  10,  xii.  7,  14). 

Along  with  general  exhortations  like  these  we  find  such  as 
have  a  special  bearing  on  the  circumstances  and  tendencies  of 
the  time.  The  writer  lays  bare  the  evils  of  the  time,  and 
seeks  to  effect  their  removal,  not  after  the  manner  of  the 
Prophets  by  raising  his  voice  in  trumpet  tones  against 
them,  but  by  calmly  reasoning  and  exposing  their  preposter- 
ous character. 

At  all  periods  in  which  the  powers  of  this  world  have 
weighed  oppressively  on  the  people  of  God,  the  temptation  has 
been  peculiarly  strong  to  approve  and  adopt  the  worldly  wis- 
dom which  prevailed  amongst  the  surrounding  heathen  nations. 
The  danger  lay  very  near  of  coming,  in  that  manner,  to  terms 
with  the  world,  and  seeking  thus  to  be  on  equal  footing  with 
it.  Against  this  false  heathenish  wisdom,  which  seeks  out 
many  inventions,  (chap.  vii.  29,)  and  which  should  be  regarded 
as  the  great  foe  of  their  welfare  and  safety,  the  writer  utters 
his  warning  in  chap.  vii.  25,  26  ;  he  further  admonishes  the 
Israelites  to  offer  energetic  resistance  to  its  attacks  upon 
themselves.  In  chap.  xii.  1 2,  he  warns  them  against  famili- 
arising themselves  with  worldly  literature.  In  opposition 
to  the  false  foreig-n  wisdom  he  sets  before  them  the  genuine, 
viz.,  their  own  native  wisdom,  which  "  knows  the  meaning  of 
things,"  which  leads  men  to  a  knowledge  of  their  true  nature, 
and  thus  affords  the  basis  for  a  right  practical  conduct  in  rela- 
tion to  them.  With  the  manifold  divisions  of  heathendom 
which  though  ever  learning  never  comes  to  a  knowledge  of 
the  truth,  he  contrasts  their  own  book  of  books,  (chap.  xii.  11,) 
which,  whilst  seeming  to  have  many  authors  had  in  reahty 
but  one,  even  the  Shepherd  of  Israel,  and  the  words  thereof 


INTRODUCTION.  29 

are  consequently  as  goads  and  nails,  penetrating  heart  and 
spirit  and  laying  hold  of  their  inmost  depths. 

Hand  in  hand  with  the  temptation  to  adopt  the  wisdom  of 
the  heathens  went  that  of  falling  into  their  sinful  way  of  life. 
Those  who  saw  miseiy  weighing  heavily  on  the  people  of  God, 
and  on  the  contrary  all  things  going  well  and  happily  with 
the  heathen  in  their  life  of  sin  :  those  who  saw  how  these 
latter  "tempted  God  and  escaped,"  and  how  the  "doers  of  crime 
were  established,"  (Mai.  iii.  15,)  must  have  felt  a  strong  temp- 
tation to  doubt  and  despair  of  God,  and  to  let  the  evil  desires 
of  the  heart  have  full  and  free  play.  Against  this  danger  the 
author  warns  men  in  chap.  viii.  1-4,  11  ;  vii.  17. 

Still  even  these  temptations  were  by  no  means  the  most 
dangerous.  The  most  critical  and  suspicious  elements  of  the 
present  condition  of  the  Jews,  were  those  which  prepared  the 
way  for  the  later  Pharisaism. 

The  prime  evil  of  the  time,  was  that  righteousness  which 
owed  its  origin  to  speculations  on  the  advantages  it  would 
bring,  which  was  full  of  claims,  full  of  merits,  and  full  of  mur- 
murs against  God,  who  refused  to  honour  the  drafts  drawn  on 
Him.  In  chap.  vii.  1 5-1 8,  he  enters  the  lists  against  this  destruc- 
tive tendency,  which  at  a  later  period  gTCW  so  much  more 
hardened  and  decided  that  the  Lord  was  driven  to  utter, 
against  those  who  in  His  day  were  its  representatives,  the 
terrible  words  :  "  ye  serpents,  ye  generation  of  vipers,  how 
ct»-n  ye  escape  the  damnation  of  hell?"  This  counterfeit  right- 
eousness which  then  gave  itself  such  pretentious  airs,  he  des- 
cribes as  but  another  form  of  ungodliness,  running  parallel 
with  open  apostacy ;  and  he  shows,  that  so  far  from  ensuring 
salvation,  it  involves  us  in  the  divine  condemnation  :  for  God 
cannot  allow  himself  to  be  put  off  with  such  a  hollow  and 
heartless  piety,  but  demands,  and  must  have  genuine  fear  and 
faith. 

In  chap.  viii.  14,  15,  the  book  speaks  out  against  the  hire- 
ling spirit  which  was  bound  up  with  such  an  evil  righteous- 
ness. Godliness  ought  not  to  be  a  question  of  gain,  nor  right- 
eousness to  originate  in  speculations  of  future  good.  Tlierefore 
are  the  ways  of  the  recompensing  God  quite  darkened  :  and 
things  go  very  differently  from  men's  fancies.  If  they  went 
according  to  men's  thoughts,  that  is,  in  other  words,  if  for 


30  INTRODUCTION. 

every  work  really  or  apparently  good,  and  for  every  evil  deed, 
the  reward  were  forthwith  weighed  and  measured  out  piece 
by  piece,  there  would  soon  be  no  genuine  uprightness  left  on 
earth,  for  true  righteousness  is  the  daughter  of  hearty  and  un- 
selfish love.  The  happiness  of  life  must  not  then  be  regarded 
as  a  hireling  regards  his  wages  ;  it  must  not  have  this  basis. 
Our  duty  is  rather  cheerfully  to  enjoy  in  the  present  what 
God  graciously  bestows,  to  use  the  present  moment  and  not  to 
speculate  on  the  future. 

Moroseness  also  is  inseparably  conjoined  with  false  righteous- 
ness, as  was  cleaiiy  shown  in  the  example  of  Cain  at  the  very 
commencement  of  the  human  race.  The  punishment  inflicted 
on  sin,  where  there  is  defective  knowledge  of  the  sin  itself, 
produces  dark  despondency,  and  discontent  with  God's  arrange- 
ments, (Isaiah  Iviii.  3  ;  Malachi  iii.  14.) 

With  this  spirit  of  gloom,  dejection  and  ill  humour  the  self- 
righteous  had  more  or  less  infected  the  whole  people.  This 
too  was  the  one  amongst  the  chief  evils  of  the  age,  which  even 
the  really  righteous  were  least  able  to  resist.  To  the  healing 
of  this  disorder  the  author  has  directed  his  special  attention. 
See  chap.  ii.  24;  iii.  12,  22;  viii.  15:  "Then  I  commended 
mirth  because  a  man  hath  no  better  thing  under  the  sun,  than 
to  eat  and  to  drink  and  be  merry : "  compare  also  chap.  ix.  7  ; 
xi.  8-1 0.  Koheleth  is  from  his  heart  an  enemy  to  extravagant 
mirth  and  sensual  feasting.  He  says  to  laughter,  "  thou  art 
mad,  and  to  mirth,  what  doest  thou?"  (chap.  ii.  2.)  "The 
heart  of  fools  is  in  the  house  of  mirth,"  (chap.  vii.  4.)  Indeed 
the  entire  book,  and  in  particular  chap.  vii.  1-5,  breathes  the 
intensest  earnestness.  In  chap.  xii.  1,  he  points  out  how 
devotion  is  the  foundation  of  all  happiness,  of  all  joy,  and  in 
chap  xi.  9,  warns  the  extravagant  and  dissolute  that  God  wiU 
bring  all  their  doings  and  ways  into  judgment.  At  the  same 
time,  he  recommends  that  cheerful  confidence  in  God  which 
does  not  allow  itself  to  be  led  astray  by  the  aspect  of  affairs 
at  the  present  moment,  but  waits  joyfully  in  hope  of  a  better 
future :  and  enjoins  an  unbroken  courage  which  can  proceed 
steadily  forward  in  the  path  of  duty,  and  can  calmly  wait 
until  the  actual  arrangements  of  this  world  are  once  more 
brought  into  agreement  with  the  word  and  nature  of  God. 
He  warns  against  thanklessly  despising  that  which  God  gra- 


INTRODUCTION.  31 

cioLisly  offers.  The  Saviour  set  His  seal  of  confirmation  to  the 
utterances  of  this  book,  when,  with  a  reference  to  it,  he  said, 
"  the  Son  of  man  is  come  eating  and  drinking."  And  the 
offence  which  the  Pharisees  took  at  His  manner  of  life,  proves 
that  in  them  was  still  perpetuated  the  tendency  against  which 
the  author  of  this  book  directs  his  observations. 

In  conjunction  with  this  morose  and  melancholy  spirit  were 
found  a  slothful  feebleness  and  timidity.  Men  had  no  courage 
or  pleasure  in  doing  anything,  because  they  regarded  it  all  as 
useless.  Against  such  conduct  the  author  raises  his  voice  in 
chap.  ix.  10,  and  again  in  chap.  xi.  4-6.  Precisely  in  dark 
and  troublous  times  ought  we  to  be  the  more  earnest  in  ful- 
filling the  vocation  wherewith  God  has  called  us :  we  should 
sow  incessantly  in  tears  that  we  may  reap  in  joy. 

Tlie  religious  superficiality  of  the  age,  the  want  of  a  living 
fear  of  God,  manifested  itself  not  only  in  self-righteousness, 
and  in  the  gloomy  discontent  and  hopeless  inactivity  which  it 
produced,  but  also  in  a  disposition  to  put  off  God  with  soul- 
less sacrifices  instead  of  honouring  Him  by  obedience,  in  the 
efforts  made  to  cover  the  absence  of  a  heart  which  constantly 
seeks  and  supplicates  God  by  the  show  and  pretence  of  offering 
long  prayers,  and  finally,  in  the  extreme  readiness  to  vow 
vows  in  the  fulfilment  of  which  they  showed  little  conscien- 
tiousness, and  the  obligations  of  which  they  thought  them- 
selves able  to  discharge  by  a  mere  formality.  Against  such 
things  the  writer  speaks  in  chap.  iv.  1 7  ;  v.  6. 

It  is  not  a  superficial  piety  that  can  give  in  arduous  circum- 
stances the  precious  pearl  of  peace  of  soul,  and  preserve  from 
that  irritability,  whose  inevitable  result  is  a  heightening  of 
our  suffering.  Only  a  deep  and  hearty  godliness,  which  sees 
in  all,  even  in  the  most  afflictive  events  a  Father's  hand,  and 
submits  itself  with  quiet  resignation,  can  do  this.  Against 
that  dangerous  enemy  irritability  the  author  warns  his  fellow- 
countrymen  in  chap.  x.  4.  Side  by  side  with  this  we  may 
place  his  recommendation  of  patience,  (chap.  vii.  8.) 

The  Pharisees,  as  the  New  Testament  says,  were  covetous. 
Covetousness  flourishes  most  luxuriantly  where  a  religiousness 
which  is  merely  external,  and  changes  not  the  heart,  presents 
it  with  a  covering  of  fig  leaves.  When  men  conclude  a  peace 
with  God   by  means  of  services  which  do  not  flow  from  the 


3  2  INTRODUCTION. 

heart,  their  darling  inclinations  come  all  the  more  freely  into 
play.  In  battling  with  this  enemy  of  the  divine  life,  the  book 
displays  peculiar  zeal — a  plain  proof  that  it  was  then  specially 
dangerous.  They  are  the  same  passages  as  those  in  which  the 
author  opposes  the  prevalent  envy  of  the  riches  of  the  heathen ; 
and  envy  has  the  same  root  as  avarice,  (chap.  iv.  7-12  ;  v.  9- 
19;  vi.) 

The  preacher  rightly  discerned  the  signs  of  the  times.  He 
saw  that  a  great  catastrophe  drew  nigh,  that  a  time  approached 
when  the  "  the  peoples  will  rage  and  the  kingdoms  be  moved" 
(Psalm  xlvi.  7).  Whilst  teacliing  how  men  should  make  pre- 
parations for  this,  so  that  they  may^feel  that  they  have  a 
gracious  God  through  it  all,  he  sets  in  opposition  to  the  bosom 
sin  of  the  age,  namely,  covetous  narrow-heartedness,  that 
generous-minded  liberality  which  is  closely  allied  with  a  true 
love  of  God  and  is  a  proof  that  we  are  his  children  (chap, 
xi.  1-3). 

In  this  manner  has  the  writer  discharged  the  mission  of 
reproof  and  admonition,  with  which,  as  well  as  with  that  of 
consolation,  he  was  intrusted. 

Various  judgments  have  been  passed  upon  this  book.  As 
the  representative  of  the  theology  of  the  Church  let  us  hear 
what  Luther  says  about  it.  He  styles  it — "  This  noble  little 
book,  which  for  good  reasons  it  were  exceedingly  worth 
while  that  it  should  be  read  of  all  men  with  great  carefulness 
every  day."  "The  main  point  (or  more  correctly,  a  main 
point)  in  this  book,"  says  he,  "  is,  that  there  is  no  higher 
wisdom  on  earth  under  the  sun  than  that  every  man  should 
fill  his  post  industriously  and  in  the  fear  of  God,  not  troub- 
ling himself  whether  or  no  his  work  turn  out  as  he  would  fain 
have  it,  but  contenting  himself,  and  leaving  the  ordering  of 
all  things  great  and  small  entirely  to  God.  In  fine,  that  he 
be  contented,  and  abide  by  that  which  God  gives  him  at  the 
present  moment,  taking  for  motto  the  words,  'The  Lord's 
behest  will  turn  out  best.'  And  thus  a  man  should  not 
worry  and  question  and  trouble  himself  how  things  will  or 
should  turn  out  in  the  future,  but  think  within  himself — 
God  has  entrusted  me  with  this  office,  with  this  work,  and  I 
am  resolved  to  discharge  it  diligentlj^ :  if  my  counsels  and 
plans  do  not  succeed  as  I  expected,  let  God  dispose,  ordain, 


INTRODUCTION.  33 

and  nile  as  He  will."  Even  on  profounder  minds,  who  held 
a  freer  position  in  relation  to  Holy  Scripture,  this  book  has 
exercised  an  attracting  influence.  Herder,  for  example,  says  y' 
— "No  ancient  book  that  1  am  acquainted  with  describes 
more  fully,  impressively,  and  concisely  the  sum  of  human 
life,  the  uncertainty  and  vanity  of  its  business  plans,  specula- 
tions and  pleasm-es,  along  with  that  in  it  which  is  alone 
true,  lasting,  progressive,  and  compensatory."  On  the  con- 
trary,  the  soulless,   spiritless,  vulgar   Rationalism  has    been 

capable  of  little  sympathy  with  the  book.     A.  Th.  Hartman - 

gave  most  open  expression  to  his  antipathy  to  it.'"  He  de- 
scribes it  as  "the  work  of  a  morose  Hebrew  Philosopher,  com- 
posed when  he  was  in  a  dismal  mood,  and  in  places  thoroughly 
tedious." 

Even  at  an  early  period  objections  were  raised  against  this 
book  amongst  the  Jews.  In  the  Talmud,  in  Tractate  Schab- 
bath,  f.  30,  b.,  it  is  said  that  the  wise  men  wished  to  suppress 
the  book  of  Koheleth,  because  it  contains  contradictions.  "But 
why  have  they  not  suppressed  it?  Because  its  beginning 
and  its  end  are  words  of  the  law."  According  to  the  Mid- 
rasch,  the  wise  men  wished  to  suppress  Koheleth,  because  all 
its  wisdom  ended  in  the  injunction  of  chap.  xi.  9  :  "Rejoice,  O 
young  man,  in  thy  youth,  and  let  thy  heart  cheer  thee  in  the 
days  of  thy  youth,  and  walk  in  the  ways  of  thine  heart,  and  in 
the  sight  of  thine  eyes,"  which  passage  contradicts  Numbers  xv. 
89.  Inasmuch,  however,  as  Solomon  has  added,  "But  know 
thou  that  for  all  these  things  God  will  bring  thee  into  judg- 
ment," therefore,  they  said,  "Solomon  has  spoken  well,"  noW 
"iiox  nsv  Jerome  has  reported  similar  words  as  uttered  by 
Jews ;  for  which  see  the  quotation  given  at  chap.  xii.  1 4. 

Some  have  supposed  that  by  the  "  wise  men  "  are  meant 
the  collectors  of  the  Canon — but  wrongly.  Had  these  been 
meant  they  would  have  been  more  distinctly  designated.  We 
have  before  us  reflections  on  the  book  as  one  which  had 
already  had  its  place  assigned  to  it  in  the  Canon.  A 
distinction  should  further  be  drawn  between  the  thoughts 
and  their  dress,  between  the  mode  of  saying  and  the  thing 
said.     The  thought  is,  that  examining  the  book  only  super- 

*  Linguistical  Introduction  to  the  Book   of  Koheleth   in  "Winer's   Zeits- 
chrift,"  1  s.,  29  f. 

C 


34  INTRODUCTION. 

ficially  it  awakens  hesitations,  but  these  vanish  after  deeper 
consideration.  The  opinion  is  not,  that  we  should  be  content 
to  put  up  with  the  offensive  passages  for  the  sake  of  such 
as  are  of  an  edifying  nature,  but  that  the  latter  should  be 
our  guide  in  investigating  and  understanding  the  former. 

The  assertion  which  Augusti,  Schmidt,  and,  in  part  also, 
Knobel  have  ventured  to  make,  that  the  author  of  the  "  Book 
of  Wisdom  "  attacks  Koheleth  in  chap,  ii.,  has  so  little  founda- 
tion that  it  is  not  worth  the  trouble  of  examining  and 
refuting. 

Early  in  the  Christian  era  also  single  individuals  raised 
their  voices  against  this  book.  Philastrius  in  his  "  Hcer.  130" 
speaks  of  heretics  who  reject  Solomon's  Ecclesiastes,  because, 
after  having  declared  all  things  to  be  vanity,  he  leaves  but 
one  thing  worth  caring  for,  namely,  to  eat,  drink,  and  gratify 
one's  own  souL 

Knobel  has,  last  of  all,  summed  up  the  rationalistic  attacks, 
bringing  against  the  book  the  reproach  of  fatalism,  moral 
scepticism,  and  moral  Epicureanism.  "All  the  moral  lessons 
and  admonitions  of  Koheleth,"  he  maintains,  "end  in  recom- 
mending ease  and  enjoyment  in  life."  Ewal^d  has  already 
given  a  partial,  though  a  very  striking  refutation  of  this 
assertion :  a  complete  one  is  contained  in  the  investigation  of 
the  contents  which  has  preceded,  and  in  the  commentary 
which  follows.  Such  charges  it  would  be  impossible  to  ad- 
vance but  for  the  low  state  to  which  exegesis  has  been  re- 
duced. But  in  face  of  such  attacks  we  feel  ourselves  able 
confidently  to  say,  "  Come  and  see." 

Against  any  such  profane  view  of  the  book  as  brings  it 
into  conflict  with  the  remaining  Old  Testament  canonical 
literature  one  fact  is  by  itself  a  sufficient  argument,  viz.,  that 
the  author  stands  in  a  most  friendly  relation  thereto.  The 
passage  of  most  importance  in  this  respect  is  chap.  xii.  11, 
where  the  writer  incorporates  his  work  with  the  other  can- 
onical Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament,  ascribes  to  it  a  deeply 
penetrating  influence,  and  finds  its  origin  in  that  divine  in- 
spiration which  constitutes  the  boundary  line  between  the 
literature  of  revelation  and  the  literature  of  the  world,  against 
which  latter,  moreover,  he  gives  an  emphatic  warning  in  the 
following  verse.     In  chap.  xii.  7  and  in  chap.  v.  8,  4,  he  re- 


INTRODUCTION.  35 

fers  to  the  Pentateuch  ;  to  the  book  of  Job  in  the  passages 
aheady  adduced  ;  to  Psalm  cxviii.    1 2,  in  chap.   vii.    6  ;   to 
Psalm  cxxxix.  15,  in  chap.   xi.  5  ;  probably  to  Psalm  xli.,  in 
chap.   xi.    1-3;    to    Proverbs    xxii.   1,   in    chap.   vii.    1;    to  j 
Zechariah  iv.  3,  in  chap.  xii.  6. 

A  guide  to  a  true  estimate  of  the  book  may  be  found  in 
the  numerous  links  of  connection  between  it  and  the  New 
Testament — especially  in  the  frequent  allusions  made  to  it 
in  the  discourses  of  our  Lord.  Amongst  the  passages  ad- 
duced from  the  New  Testament  by  Carpzov  in  his  Introd. 
ii.,  p.  212,  which  he  supposes  to  have  reference  to  Koheleth, 
only  one  will  bear  examination,  namely  John  iii.  8,  with 
which  compare  Eccles.  xi.  5,  "As  thou  knowest  not  the  way 
of  the  wind."  There  are,  however,  other  undeniable  refer- 
ences which  he  overlooked.  Compare  with  chap.  i.  1  of  Ko- 
heleth, Luke  xiii.  34;  with  chap.  ii.  1-2,  Luke  xii.  16-21  ; 
with  chap.  ii.  24,  and  its  parallels,  Matthew  xi.  19  ;  with 
chap.  iii.  1,  John  vii.  30  ;  with  chap.  iii.  2,  John  xvi.  21  ; 
with  chap.  iv.  17,  Luke  xxiii.  34;  with  chap.  iv.  17,  v.  1, 
James  i.  19  ;  Avith  chap.  v.  1,  Matthew  vi.  7,  8;  with  chap.  v. 
5,  xii.  6,  James  iii.  6  ;  with  chap.  vii.  18,  Matthew  xxiii.  23; 
with  chap.  ix.  10,  John  ix.  4. 

Through  a  too  great  dependence  on  exegetical  works  su<^h 
as  that  of  Knobel,  a  respectable  and  esteemed  representative 
and  upholder  of  the  theology  of  the  church,  Dr  Oehler,  has 
allowed  himself  in  his  Prolegomena  to  the  Theology  of  the  Old 
Testament  and  in  his  V.  T.  sententia  de  rebus  post  mortem 
futuris,  to  be  led  into  views  of  this  book  which  in  reahty 
do  endanger  its  canonical  dignity,  however  strongly  he  may 
disclaim  any  such  intention.  According  to  his  opinion  the 
writer  is  involved  in  a  conflict  between  faith  and  knowledge. 
"The  contradiction  between  the  divine  perfection  and  the 
vanity  of  the  world  (more  correctly,  the  sufferings  of  the 
people  of  God)  is  set  before  us  without  any  reconciliation 
being  effected.  The  latter  is  treated  as  a  matter  of  undeni- 
able experience :  the  former  is  assumed  as  a  religious  postu- 
late. The  only  real  wisdom,  therefore,  in  life  is  resignation, 
which  enables  a  man  to  use  this  vain  and  empty  life  as  well 
as  he  can,  and  at  the  same  time  leaves  all  at  the  disposal  of 
God."      On  the  one  hand,  the  author  teaches  that  there  is  a 


36  INTRODUCTION. 

providende  and  a  retribution,  and  on  the  other  hand,  omnia 
vana  et  consilii  expertia  esse.  From  the  point  of  view  of 
faith,  he  teaches,  in  chap.  xii.  7,  that  there  is  an  etei-nal  life  : 
from  the  point  of  view  of  reason,  he  judges  that  the  soul 
perishes  with  the  body  (chap.  iii.  1 9),  that  between  the  good  and 
evil  in  and  after  death  there  is  no  difference  (chap.  ix.  2  f )  On 
this  view  the  book  of  Koheleth  would  be  the  work,  and  present 
us  the  picture,  of  a  distracted  heart,  of  a  divided  spirit,  avrio 
bi-^vyjag,  such  as  are  produced  in  masses  in  our  own  time;  and 
the  Holy  Scriptures  themselves  would  thus  be  involved  in 
the  conflict  they  were  destined  to  heal. 

Against  this  we  would  observe,  that  it  is  not  correct  to  say 
that  the  book  presents  to  us  an  unadjusted  discord  between 
faith  and  knowledge,  idea  and  experience.  There  is  of  course 
no  denying  that,  just  as  in  the  Psalms,  the  writer  lets  scepti- 
cism have  its  say.  So  far  there  is  truth  in  the  view  which 
distinguishes  in  the  work  two  voices  :  but  wherever  that  of 
scepticism  is  allowed  to  speak,  it  is  only  for  the  purpose  of  at 
once  overcoming  it.  Nowhere,  as  a  sort  of  model  for  the 
Theology  of  a  de  Wette,  do  doubt  and  faith  stand  in  front  of 
each  other,  as  forces  equally  entitled  to  hearing  and  existence, 
but  everywhere  when  the  voice  of  the  flesh  has  spoken,  the 
voice  of  the  Spirit  replies  in  confutation.  Such  is  precisely 
the  case  in  Psalm  xxxix.  This  is  most  remarkably  evi- 
dent just  in  that  passage,  (chap.  ix.  1-10,)  in  which  .scepti- 
cism pours  itself  forth  like  a  mighty  stream.  The  expression 
of  "  the  mood  of  scepticism  and  of  discontent  with  life"  goes 
there  only  as  far  as  ver.  6  :  in  verses  7-10,  it  is  vanquished 
by  the  sword  of  faith.  The  pretended  dualism  in  regard  to 
the  doctrine  of  eternal  life  is  set  aside  by  the  observation  that 
in  chap.  ix.  2,  the  voice  of  the  flesh  is  allowed  to  be  heard  in 
order  that  immediately  afterwards  it  may  be  judged  and  con- 
victed. Chap.  iii.  21,  when  interpreted  on  correct  philological 
principles,  so  far  from  containing  a  denial,  is  an  express 
affirmation  of  eternal  life. 

Nor  is  it  just  to  maintain  that  the  author  knows  of  no  higher 
wisdom  in  life  than  resignation.  Without  doubt  he  teaches 
that  human  life  often  presents  difficult  enigmas,  that  it  is  very 
hard  to  understand  God's  arrangements,  and  that  not  unfre- 
quently  we  find  ourselves  reduced  to  blind  faith.     In  chap. 


INTRODUCTION.  Si 

iii.  11,  for  example,  lie  says  :  "  Man  cannot  find  out  the  whole 
of  the  work  which  God  doeth,  neither  beginning  nor  end  ;"  in 
chap.  vii.  24  :  "  far  off  is  that  which  w\as  made,  and  deep,  deep, 
who  can  find  it?"  in  chap.  viii.  17  :  "Man  cannot  find  out 
the  work  that  is  done  under  the  sun ;"  in  chap.  xi.  5  :  "  As 
thou  knowest  not  what  is  the  way  of  the  wind,  like  the  bones 
in  the  womb  of  her  that  is  with  child,  even  so  thou  knowest 
not  the  work  of  God,  who  doeth  all."  But  who  does  not  see 
that  these  are  truths  which  apply  still  even  to  those  who  live 
in  the  light  of  the  Gospel?  It  was  not  in  vain  and  for 
nouo-ht  that  the  Lord  pronounced  those  blessed  who  see  not  ■ 
and  yet  believe.  The  Apostle  recommends  it  to  our  considera- 
tion that  we  walk  by  faith  and  not  by  sight."" 

To  recognise  everywhere  the  causes  of  the  divine  arrange- 
ments, to  thread  the  ways  of  God  so  often  intricate,  demands 
an  eye  clearer  than  the  clearest  possessed  by  man.  Ever  afresh 
is  attention  called  to  the  fact  that  all  our  knowledge  is  but 
fragmentary.  In  the  times  of  the  writer  of  this  book,  it  was 
specially  important  to  give  prominence  to  this  side,  for  there 
were  too  many  who  were  destitute  of  clearly  seeing  eyes,  and 
above  all,  of  that  knowledge  of  sin  which  gives  the  key  to  the 
sanctuary  of  God  to  all  those  who  desire  to  find  there  the 
solution  of  the  problem  of  this  earthly  life.  But  he  has  not 
the  slightest  intention  of  leaving  us  altogether  to  blind  faith. 
The  idea  never  occurs  to  him  of  handing  over  the  region  of 
knowledge  to  unbelief  "  Wlio  is  as  the,  wise  man,"  he 
exclaims  in  chap.  viii.  1,  "  and  who  knoweth  the  interpretation 
of  things  ?"  He  believes,  therefore,  that  there  exists  a  wisdom 
which  introduces  men  into  the  essence  o*  things,  which  espe- 
cially throws  light  into  the  dark  depths  of  the  cross,  and 
justifies  the  ways  of  God.  The  consciousness  that  he  himself, 
in  struo-gling  for  wisdom,  has  attained  to  important  results  is 
expressed  in  chap.  vii.  25,  27  :  according  to  chap.  xii.  9,  he 
is,  by  God's  grace,  a  wise  man,  and  competent  to  instruct  the 
people  in  a  wisdom  which  harmonises  with  what  was  taught 

*  Even  the  Christian  Poet  sings— 

»  Da  werd'  ich  das  im  Licht  erkennen 
Was  ich  auf  Erden  dunkel  sahj 
Das  wunderbar  und  heilig  nennen  , 
Was  unerforschlich  hier  geschah." 


38  INTRODUCTION. 

by  the  wdse  of  former  ages,  who  were  all  sent  Jpy  the  one 
Shepherd,  (chap.  xii.  11.)  How  far  the  writer's  counsels  are 
from  ending  in  simple  "  Resignation,"  to  which  none  are  limited 
but  those  whom  God,  because  of  unbelief,  has  forsaken,  and  to 
whom  the  gates  of  the  sanctuary  do  not  stand  open,  (Psalm 
Ixxii.  7,)  is  plain  from  the  long  series  of  passages  in  which  he 
announces  a  termination  to  the  sufferings  of  the  people  of  God 
and  their  approaching  victory,  at  the  same  time  laying  bare 
the  causes  of  their  present  depression,  and  justifying  it  as 
ordered  of  the  ordering  of  divine  love  and  righteousness. 


COMMENTAET. 


THE  SUPERSCRIPTION,  CHAPTER  I.  ]. 

The  luords  of  the  Koheleth,  the  Son  of  David,  the  King  in 
Jerusalem.  It  is  not  a  question  of  words  in  general,  but  of 
the  words.  There  exist  no  other  words  spoken  by  Solomon  to 
the  generation  then  existing.  Only  in  virtue  of  this  mission 
did  he  bear  the  title  Koheleth,  (compare  under  chap.  xii.  9.) 
There  can  be  no  doubt  whatever  that  Koheleth  properly  sig- 
nifies— "  The  Assembler,"  (in  the  feminine.)  The  Kal  form  of 
irij?  does  not  occur  otherwise.  The  participle  in  Kal  must 
be  employed  here  for  the  participle  in  Hiphil — a  thing  which 
might  the  more  easily  take  place  as  it  stands  for  the  noun. 
The  verb  is  always  used  of  persons,  never  of  things.  It  is  the 
standing  form  employed  for  the  calling  together  of  the  whole 
Israelitish  community,  of  the  entire  people  of  God.  Compare 
Deut.  iv.  10,  where  we  read — "  On  the  day  that  thou  stoodest 
before  the  Lord  thy  God  in  Horeb,  when  the  Lord  said  unto 
me,  gather  me  the  people  together,  and  I  will  make  them  hear 
my  words  that  they  may  learn  to  fear  me  :"  Exodus  xxxv.  1, 
— "  And  Moses  gathered  together  all  the  congregation  of  the 
children  of  Israel,  and  said  unto  them,  these  are  the  words 
which  the  Lord  hath  commanded  that  ye  should  do 
them  :  Leviticus  viii.  3, — "  and  gather  thou  all  the  congrega- 
tion together  unto  the  door  of  the  Tabernacle,"  (Numbers  viii. 
9  ;  X.  7  :)  1  Kings  viii.  1,  "then  Solomon  assembled  the 
elders  of  Israel,  &c."  The  fact  of  the  person  who  speaks  bear- 
ing the  name  Koheleth — which  name  was  as  to  essentials  cor- 
rectly explained  even  by  Jerome* — indicates  the  ecclesiastical 

*  Coeleth,  id  est  Ecclesiastes.     Eccl.  autem  Gra;co  sermone  appellatur,  qui 
coetuin,  id  est  ecclesiam  congreget,  queni  nos  nuncupare  possumus  conciunatorem, 


40  CHAPTER  I.   1. 

character  of  the  book,  and  its  high  significance  in  relation  to 
the  entire  church  of  God.  In  this  respect  it  accords  with  the 
commencement  of  Psalm  xlix. :  "  Hear  this  all  ye  people,  give 
ear  all  ye  inhabitants  of  the  world  :  both  low  and  high,  rich 
and  poor  together.  My  mouth  shall  speak  of  wisdom,  and 
the  meditation  of  my  heart  shall  be  of  understanding."  The 
wisdom  of  the  Israelites  was  animated  by  a  spirit  moving  its 
possessors  to  become  witnesses  of  its  excellence  :  it  had  a 
thoroughly  popular  character,  it  belonged  not  to  the  narrow 
limits  of  the  school  but  to  the  spacious  courts  of  the  temple  : 
it  was  a  leaven  intended  to  leaven  the  whole  lump.  Wisdom, 
within  the  Church,  was  to  address  itself  not  merely  to  a  few 
peculiarly  gifted  individuals,  but  has  something  of  importance 
to  communicate  to  all  alike.  It  is  full  of  compassion  like  the 
God  who  is  its  fountain :  it  delights  to  seek  out  those  who 
are  lost :  whereas  the  wisdom  of  this  world  cannot  find  a 
bridge  over  to  the  simple  and  ignorant,  and  has  no  disposition 
to  interest  itself  in  them.  The  tendency  to  association,  which 
has  its  root  in  the  wisdom  coming  fi-om  above,  belongs  only  to 
the  Church,  and  therefore,  outside  its  pale,  and  where  its  path 
has  been  forsaken,  we  find  only  isolation  and  infatuated  dis- 
solution. The  world  is  compelled  to  make  the  confession, 
"  we  all  go  astray  like  sheep,  we  turn,  every  one  of  us,  to  his 
own  way,"  The  name  Koheleth  occurs  three  times  in  the  first 
chapter,  namely,  in  verses  1,  2,  1 2j  three  times  in  the  last  chap- 
ter xii.  9,  10  :  once  in  the  middle,  where  it  is  joined  with  the 
feminine,  whereas  elsewhere  it  is  joined  always  with  the  mascu- 
line. In  chap.  xii.  8,  the  article  is  joined  with  it :  in  the  other 
places  the  word  stands  without  article  as  an  ideal  proper  name. 
That  Solomon  is  intended  to  be  designated  by  it  is  plain  from 
the  addition  of  the  words,  "  Son  of  David,  King  in  Jerusalem," 
the  purpose  of  which  evidently  is  to  anticipate  and  prevent  all 
doubt  in  this  respect.  But  in  what  sense  is  this  applied  to 
Solomon,  seeing  that  in  reality  it  can  signify  nothing  more 
than  "  The  Assembler"  (feminine)  ?  This  is  a  matter  of  con- 
troversy ;  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  whatever  that  the  title, 
an  explanation  of  which  is  given  in  chap.  xii.  9,  "  Moreover 
Koheleth  was  a  wise  man,  and  taught  the  ^people  knowledge" 

eo  quod  loquatur  ad  populum,  et  sermo  ejus  non  specialiter  ad  unum,  sed  ad 
uiiiversos  generaliter  dirigatur. 


CHAPTER  I.  1.  41 

was  applied  to  Solomon,  because  through  him  wisdom  spake 
to  the  people  of  God,  because  he  was  regarded  as  wisdom  per- 
sonified, besides  being  its  mouth  and  organ.  It  is  precisely 
on  this  ground  that  his  discourses  have  so  decided  a  signifi- 
cance and  importance  :  for  this  reason  do  they  bear  a  canoni- 
cal character;  just  as  the  words  of  the  prophets  derived  their 
weight  from  the  presence  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ  in  them, 
(1  Peter  i.  11,)  from  their  speaking  as  they  were  moved  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,  (2  Peter  i.  21,)  and  as  the  Apostles  also,  ac- 
cording to  Acts  XV.  28,  were  organs  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
By  his  employment  of  this  title,  the  author  indicates  that 
Solomon  is  not  here  regarded  by  him  in  the  light  of  a  philo- 
sopher, but  as  the  representative  of  a  higher  spirit  than  his 
own — of  that  mind  which  is  alone  capable  of  uttering  such 
things  as  are  of  thorough  and  lasting  importance  for  the  people 
of  God.  For  this,  as  the  only  correct  explanation  of  the  term, 
the  passage  chap.  vii.  27,  is  plainly  decisive.  There,  a  con- 
trast is  drawn  between  the  Koheleth  and  the  stranger,  the 
foreigner,  i.  e.,  philosophy  and  wanton  seduction :  and  the 
evidently  intentional  construction  of  Koheleth  with  the  feminine, 
can  only  be  explained  by  its  being  descriptive  of  the  wisdom 
which  is  from  above.  A  further  proof  of  the  correctness  of 
this  view  is  afforded  by  a  comparison  with  the  first  nine 
chapters  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs,  where  in  fact  we  have  the 
true  key  to  the  designation.  The  writer  would  never  have 
chosen  this  title  had  he  not  been  able  to  calculate  on  readers 
who  would  look  to  those  chapters  of  Proverbs  for  its  meaning, 
for  the  solution  of  his  enigma — for  with  an  enigma  we  evi- 
dently have  to  do  here.  Those  chapters  form  a  kind  of  porch- 
way  or  introduction,  and  before  an  exposition  was  given  of 
the  particular  doctrines  of  the  wisdom  which,  by  God's  grace, 
had  fixed  its  seat  in  Israel,  they  were  intended  to  exhibit  its 
real  nature,  and  to  kindle  a  love  of  it  in  the  hearts  of  the 
readers  :  they  were  further  meant  at  the  same  time,  to  unmask 
and  stir  up  hatred  of  its  rival  false  wisdom,  the  foreigner, 
which,  by  its  seductive  arts,  was  trying  to  gain  admittance 
amongst  the  people  of  God.  Wisdom  is  then  introduced  as  a 
person,  and  as  speaking  to  men.*     In  its  character  as  Kohe- 

*  Ch.  B.  Michaelis  on  Chap.  viii.     Quod  sapientia  liic  non  ut  qualitas  sed  ut 
persona  inducatur,  non  inde  solum  liquet,  quod  vox,  labia,  os  aliaque,  qux  per- 


42  CHAPTER  I.  1. 

Ictli,  as  tlie  Assembler,  it  is  clearly  brought  forward  in  chap, 
i.  20,  21,  "wisdom  crieth  without,  she  uttereth  her  voice  in 
the  streets.  She  preacheth  in  the  chief  place  of  concourse  : 
she  utters  her  words  in  the  gates  of  the  city : "  further  also 
in  chap.  viii.  1,  ff  From  such  a  personification  of  wisdom 
there  is  but  a  step  to  its  becoming  as  it  were  personal  in  an 
individual,  as  in  this  Book  of  Ecclesiastes.  To  assume  such  an 
embodiment  of  wisdom  in  a  person  here  is  matter  of  less  diffi- 
culty, seeing  that  the  like  thing  occurs  undeniably  in  the  New 
Testament.  A  comparison  of  Luke  xi.  49,  50,  with  Matthew 
xxiii.  8  4,  will  leave  no  room  to  doubt  that  in  the  first  passage 
Christ  represents  himself  as  the  personal  embodiment  of  wis- 
dom. That  there  is  a  connection  between  these  passages  and 
Solomon's  appearance  as  Koheleth,  was  recognised  already  by 
Bengel  in  his  time,  and  that  the  two  stand  in  a  certain 
measure  on  the  same  line.  He  says  in  his  Gnomon,  on  Luke 
xi.  49,  ;j  6o(pia  Tou  diou,  scqnentia  dei.  Suave  nomen.  Koheleth 
COngregatrix.  Chap.  xiii.  84,  itoGay.tc,  rfiVknca  hmffwu^ai  to.  rr/.m 
GOV.  In  these  words  from  Matthew  xxiii.  37,  quoted  by  Bengel, 
Christ  appears  to  allude  to  himself  as  the  true  Koheleth.  The 
objections  which  have  been  urged  against  the  explanation  now 
given  of  the  name  Koheleth,  especially  of  the  feminine  form  of  it, 
are  untenable.  Those  who  affirm  that  the  author  must  have 
expressed  himself  much  more  distinctly  had  he  intended  to 
apply  to  Solomon  the  title  Koheleth  because  of  his  standing 
as  the  representative  of  wisdom,  overlook  the  fact  that  this 
explanation  is  involved  in  the  relation  existing  between  this 
book  and  the  exordium  of  the  book  of  Proverbs  ;  and  further 
that  we  are  driven  to  it  by  chap.  vii.  27.  When  it  is  objected 
that  a  multitude  of  expressions  do  not  at  all  correspond  to 
what  we  might  expect  from  the  lips  of  Wisdom,  as,  for  example, 
when  the  person  speaking  is  represented  as  having  contem- 
plated, sought  to  obtain,  and  actually  gained  possession  of, 
wisdom,  there  is  an  overlooking  of  the  consideration  that 
Koheleth  is  not  wisdom  absolutely,  but  only  so  far  as  it  has 
found  an  embodiment  in  Solomon :  or,  in  other  words,  that 


sonarum  potius  quam  rerum  sint,  ei  tribuuntur,  v.  1  sqq,,  sed  maxime  ex  consid- 
eratione  illorum  characterum,  qui,  v  22  sqq,  expressi  sunt,  ad  quos  in  prologo 
evangelii  Johannis,  ubi  divina  Christi  natura  adseritur,  respectum  fuisse,  vix 
quisquara  negabit. 


CHAPTER  I.   1.  43 

Solomon  is  designated  Koheleth  from  the  principle  by  which 
he  was  animated.  We  have  thus  also  met  the  objection  that 
Solomon  always  comes  on  the  scene  in  the  distinctest  manner 
as  an  actual  person,  and  not  as  the  personification  of  an  idea, 
and  that  accordingly  reference  is  made  to  the  experiences  of 
a  living  person,  to  the  fortimes  of  a  definite  individual.  Ko- 
heleth is  not,  like  Wisdom  in  the  book  of  Proverbs,  a  "per- 
sonified idea,"  but  Solomon  himself,  who  is  regarded  as  the 
representative,  or  so  to  say,  as  the  incarnation  of  wisdom. 
The  usual  course  has  been  to  assume  without  further  proof 
that  Koheleth  is  a  sort  of  surname  of  Solomon's.  "  He  under- 
takes the  office  of  a  public  teacher  of  truth,  aifd  the  word 
Koheleth  is  intended  to  point  out  that  he  enters  here  on  this 
definite  vocation."  A  decisive  gTound  against  this  notion  is, 
that  the  name  is  conjoined  with  the  feminine  in  chap.  vii.  27. 
The  assumption  that  Solomon  bears  the  title  Koheleth  as  the 
representative  of  wisdom  furnishes  the  only  satisfaictory  ex- 
planation of  the  alternating  conjunction  of  the  word  with  the 
masculine,  which  plainly  predominates,  and  with  the  feminine. 
Moreover,  on  the  view  above  mentioned  the  feminine  form 
cannot  be  satisfactorily  accounted  for.  Some  appeal  to  the 
frequent  employment  in  titles  of  office,  of  the  abstract  word, 
for  persons.  "  The  official  is  totus  in  the  business  assigned  to 
him  in  life,  and  receives  its  name  as  his  title."  n^np  signifies 
properly  "preaching^'  the  office  and  business  of  a  public 
speaker :  it  is  then  used  also  of  the  public  speaker  himself 
So  some  argue.  There  are  however  many  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  this  position.  The  feminine  termination  does  un- 
doubtedly serve  for  forming  abstract  names  (see  Ewald,  s.  1 6  6), 
but  this  never  takes  place  with  an  active  participle,  and  for  a 
very  simple  reason.  From  iiy  "blind,"  we  may  indeed 
form  miy  "  blindness  ;'•'  from  stsn  "  sinful,"  nSDH  "  sin,  sin- 
fulness ;"  but  from  hr\\)  "  the  assembling  one, "  we  cannot 
form  n^np,  in  the  sense  of  "  preaching  sermon."  Then,  no 
case  can  be  actually  adduced  of  a  concrete  word  being  made 
abstract,  and  afterwards  again  employed  in  a  personal  sense. 
For  the  question,  who  is  the  author  of  this  book,  it  is  of  no 
little  significance  that  Solomon  does  not  appear  here  under  his 
own  name,  but  under  that  of  Koheleth.  All  the  other  publi- 
cations of  Solomon  bear  his  usual  name  on  their  title-page : 


44  CHAPTER  I.   2-11. 

for  example,  "  The  Proverbs,"  whose  inscription  runs,  "  The 
Proverbs  of  Solomon,  the  Son  of  David,  the  King  of  Israel  ;" 
the  "  Son  of  Songs ;"  Psalms  Ixxii.,  cxxvii. :  and  it  is  a  per- 
fectly natural  thing  that  he  who  wishes  himself  to  be  re- 
garded as  the  author  of  any  work  should  employ  no  other  de- 
signation than  that  by  which  he  is  already  known.  To  use 
enigmas,  and  to  play  at  hide  and  seek,  would  be  little  in 
place  in  such  a  matter.  Consequently  the  writer  of  this 
work,  in  styling  Solomon  Koheleth  pretty  clearly  indicates 
that  it  is  only  in  an  ideal  sense  he  is  introduced  as  the 
author,  that  he  was  concerned  with  the  book  only  as  a  repre- 
sentative of  Wisdom.  The  very  name,  which  is  strictly  an 
impersonal  one,  shows  that  the  person  to  whom  it  is  ap- 
plied belongs  to  the  region  of  poetry,  not  to  that  of  reality. 
Thus  we  find  that  the  only  argument,  with  any  show  of 
reason,  for  Solomon's  authorship,  changes  sides  altogether  as 
soon  as  it  is  more  carefully  examined.  The  book  of  Ecclesi- 
astes  was  not  only  not  actually  composed  by  Solomon,  but 
does  not  even  pretend  to  have  been.* 


CHAPTER  I.  2-11. 

Human  life,  according  to  the  judgment  pronounced  on  it  in 
Genesis  iii.  17-19,  is  at  its  best  but  brilliant  misery.  Our 
first  parents  felt  this  deeply  even  in  their  day.  They  named 
one  of  their  two  sons  Hebel  (Abel),  that  is  to  say,  Vanity. 
The  parents  of  Noah  also  confessed  this,  for  they  spake  at  his 
birth  ;  "  this  shall  comfort  us  in  our  toil  and  work  upon  the 
earth,  which  the  Lord  hath  cursed,"  (Genesis  v.  29).  In 
Genesis  xlvii.  9,  Jacob  says,  "few  and  evil  are  the  days  of  my 
life :"  in  Psalm  xc.  1 0,  Moses  says,  "  the  days  of  our  yeai-s 
are  threescore  and  ten,  and  if  by  reason  of  strength  they  be 
fourscore  years,  yet  is  their  strength  labour  and  sorrow  :"  and 
in  Psalm  xxxix.  6-7,  David  exclaims,  "  Only  to  utter  vanity 
was  every  man  ordained.       Only  as  a  vain   show  walketh 

*  What  A.  Fabricus  says  of  the  "  Book  of  Wisdom "  in  the  Bibl.  Gr.  3, 
s.  736,  holds  quite  good  in  the  present  instance,  viz.  :  Perinde  ut  Salvianus  nun- 
quam  volitit  existimari  libros  suos  a  Timotheo  esse  scriptos  discipulo  apostolorum, 
sed  satis  ipsifuit  sub  nobili  hoc  persona  delituisse. 


CHAPTER  I.   2-11.  45 

every  man :  surely  they  disquiet  themselves  in  vain ;  he 
heapeth  up  and  knowetli  not  who  shall  receive  it."  It  is  of 
great  importance  that  this  character  of  our  earthly  existence, 
depicted  in  so  affecting  a  manner  in  the  hymns,  "  Ah  !  how 
empty!  ah!  how  fleeting!"  and  "alas!  what  is  the  life  of 
man  f  should  become  so  distinctly  a  matter  of  consciousness, 
that  men  shall  not  seek  to  gild  over  their  misery  by  vain 
fancies.  Only  thus  can  the  vanity  to  which  we  are  sub- 
jected have  its  right  operation,  answer  its  purpose,  which  is 
to  drive  us  back  to  God  whom  we  have  forsaken,  to  bring  us 
into  the  position  of  saying  with  entire  truthfulness,  "  Thou 
alone,  O  Jehovah,  remainest  to  me  what  thou  art,  in  thee  I 
put  my  trust."  It  is  one  of  the  principal  aims  of  the  extra- 
ordinary sufferings  with  which  God  visits  His  children,  His 
whole  church  and  individuals,  to  impress  deeply  on  the  mind 
this  vanity  of  earthly  things.  It  is,  however,  a  difficult  pro- 
cess :  man  proves  herein  a  hard  learner.  He  is  ever  slow  to 
reconcile  himself  to  the  emptiness  of  earth ;  he  is  easily 
brought  to  fancy  his  lot  a  peculiarly  hard  one,  and  he  does 
all  in  his  power  to  put  an  end  to  a  condition  of  things  which 
he  deems  exceptional.  And  when  he  finds  it  impos.sib]e  to 
accomplish  his  design,  he  falls  a  prey  to  despair.  This  book 
is  unintelligible  except  on  the  historical  presupposition  that 
the  people  of  God  was  in  a  very  miserable  condition  at  the 
time  of  its  composition.  They  were  bondsmen  in  their  own 
native  land :  heathens  ruled  over  them :  everywhere  reigned 
degradation  and  misery.  When  the  foundation  of  the  second 
temple  was  laid,  the  people  were  moved  to  bitter  tears,  as 
they  contrasted  the  present  with  the  past.  Vanity  of  vani- 
ties was  the  universal  cry  :  alas !  on  what  evil  days  have  we 
fallen  !  They  said  one  to  another,  "  How  is  it  that  the  former 
days  were  better  than  these  T  Ecclesiastes  vii.  1 0.  In  parti- 
cular did  they  look  back  on  Solomon  and  his  day  with  the 
desperate  yearnings  of  a  Tantallus.  And  then  on  the  ears 
of  the  people  in  such  a  condition  bursts  the  proclamation  of 
our  author,  that  human  life  is  altogether  vanity.  Thus  on  the 
one  hand  he  administered  the  consolation  lying  at  the  basis  of 
the  words,  dulce  est  solamen  miseris  socios  habere  malorum. 
The  cross  is  much  easier  to  bear  when  we  see  that  it  is  the 
universal   destiny  of  mankind.     And  on  the  other  hand,  he 


46  CHAPTER  I.   2-11. 

suggests  powerful  motives  to  a  sincere  return  to  God,  whose 
very  name  Jehovah  or  Jahve,  signifying  "  the  One  who  abso- 
lutely is,  Pure  Being,"  constitutes  a  perfect  contrast  to  the 
vanity  with  which  every  creature  separated  from  Him  is 
justly  chargeable. 

Ver.  2.  Vanity/  of  vanities,  said  Koheleth,  vanity  of  vani- 
ties ;  all  is  vanity.  Ver.  3.  What  profit  hath  man  of  all  his 
labour  which  he  taketh  under  the  sun  ?  Ver.  4.  One  genera- 
tion passeth  away  and  another  generation  cometh,  and  the 
earth  abideth  for  ever.  Ver.  5.  The  sun  also  riseth,  and  the 
sun  goeth  down,  and  (goeth)  to  his  place  where  he  eagerly 
riseth.  Ver.  6.  The  wind  goeth  toward  the  south,  and  turneth 
about  unto  the  north,  it  whirleth  about  continually  ;  and  the 
wind  returneth  again  to  its  circuits.  Ver.  7.  All  rivers  run 
into  the  sea,  yet  the  sea  is  not  full :  unto  the  place  whence  the 
rivers  come,  thither  they  return  again.  Ver.  8.  All  words 
become  weary,  none  can  utter  it ;  the  eye  is  not  satisfied  with 
seeing,  nor  the  ear  filled  with  hearing.  Ver.  9.  The  thing 
that  hath  been,  it  is  that  which  shall  be  ;  and  that  which  has 
been  done  is  that  which  shall  be  done,  aud  there  is  nothing 
at  all  new  under  the  sun.  Ver.  1 0.  Is  there  a  thing  whereof 
it  may  be  said,  see  this  ts  neiu  ?  It  hath  been  already  of 
old  time  ivhich  was  before  us.  Ver.  11.  Ko  memorial  have 
they  of  old  ;  nor  shall  they  who  are  to  come  have  any  remem- 
brance with  those  that  shall  corae  after. 

Ver.  2.  That  it  was  the  mission  of  this  book  to  impress  on 
the  Church  of  God  the  vanity  of  all  earthly  things,  to  con- 
vince it  that  "  the  world  is  but  a  vale  of  tears,  and  that 
everywhere  are  to  be  found  only  needs,  troubles,  and  fears," 
is  externally  indicated  with  sufficient  clearness  by  the  fact 
that  the  word  ^an,  "vanity,"  occurs  in  it  thirty-seven 
times,  whilst  in  the  entire  remaining  portion  of  the  Old 
Testament  it  occurs  only  thirty-three  times.  "Vanity  of 
vanities,"  according  to  the  well  known  usage  of  speech,  signi- 
fies "  the  utmost  vanity."  The  word  "  all "  is  more  precisely 
defined  afterwards  as  "  all  that  is  under  the  sun,  whatever 
belongs  to  the  sublunary  world,  to  this  poor  earth."  It  does 
not  include  the  Creator,  whose  very  name  Jehovah,  signifying 
"  Tlie  self-existent  One,"  "  pure,  true,  absolute  being,"  stands 
in  the  completest  opposition  to  vanity :  nor  does  it  refer  to 


CHAPTER  I.   2-11.  47 

union  with  Him  and  the  joy  which  is  sought  in  Him  (compare 
chap.  xii.  18),  but  to  the  poor  creatures  which  since  the  time 
spoken  of  in  Genesis  iii.  have  been  subjected  to  vanity  (Ro- 
mans viii.  20).  The  earth  can  oifer  nothing  capable  of  afibrd- 
ing  true  satisfaction  and  contentment  to  man.  Tlie  assertion 
that  "  here  at  the  beginning  of  the  work  its  author  gives 
strongest  expression  to  the  bitterness  of  his  own  spirit ;"  rests 
on  an  utter  misunderstanding.  If  that  were  true  in  this  case, 
it  would  be  equally  true  in  the  case  of  Thomas  a  Kempis,  who 
commences  his  "  de  Iwiitatione  Christi "  with  the  words  : 
Vanitas  vanitatum  et  omnia  vanitas  prceter  amare  Deum  et 
illi  soli  servire.  Vanitas  igitur  est  divitias  peritiiius  qucerere 
et  in  illis  sperare.  Vanitas  quoque  est  Jionores  ambire  et  in 
altum  statum  se  extollere.  Vanitas  est  carnis  desideria  sequi, 
etc.  There  can  be  no  word  of  subjective  bitterness,  for  the 
simple  reason  that  the  vanity  of  all  the  possessions  of  this 
world,  and  of  the  efforts  spent  upon  them,  is  an  undeniable 
fact.  To  recognize  this  is  of  the  utmost  importance,  and  who- 
soever helps  us  to  gain  this  knowledge  is  an  excellent  preacher, 
for  he  prevents  us  seeking  any  longer  happiness  where  it  is 
not  to  be  found,  he  moderates  the  pain  we  feel  at  losing  and 
being  deprived  of  what  is  in  itself  really  worthless,  and  makes 
us  intensely  eager  to  attain  to  the  true  source  of  joy.  Nega- 
tive wisdom  is  the  condition  and  groundwork  of  positive.  We 
cannot  really  see  in  God  the  highest  good  unless  we  have  first 
of  all  discerned  the  vanity  of  that  pretended  good  which  is 
laid  before  us  by  the  world.  "  Soul,  why  weariest  thou  thy- 
self with  the  things  of  this  world  f — such  words  constitute 
an  admirable  commencement  when  we  wish  to  lead  men  to 
God.  Vanity  of  vanities  and  aU  is  vanity, — to  know  that  is 
the  preliminary  condition  of  a  true  enjoyment  of  those  plea- 
sures which  still  spring  up  in  the  barren  wastes  of  life.  He 
who  has  given  up  making  undue  claims  on  life  will  be  able 
to  take  with  a  contented  and  thankful  spirit  those  joys  which 
present  themselves  unsought  on  his  path,  he  will  be  able  to 
live  for  the  present  moment,  free  from  cares  and  covetousness. 
"  I  have  laid  my  account  with  possessing  nothing,  and  there- 
fore the  whole  world  is  mine." 

Jerome  asks  the  question  how  it  is  reconcileable  with  God's 


48  CHAPTER  I.   2-11. 

having  created  all  things  good,  to  say  that  all  is  vanity?* 
He  did  not  find  the  proper  answer  to  this  question,  nor  did 
Luther,  who  supposes  that  the  writer  "does  not  say  this  against 
the  creatures,  but  against  the  naughtiness  of  the  human  heart 
which  will  not  rest,  but  makes  for  itself  all  kinds  of  sorrow 
and  misfortune."  He  does  not  speak  of  God's  works,  "  but  of 
those  wretched  objects  beneath  the  sun  with  which  men  are 
bound  up  as  to  their  physical  constitution,  for  whose  sake  they 
give  themselves  so  much  fruitless  unrest,  trouble  and  labour." 
To  limit  his  words  entirely  to  human  efforts,  contradicts  the 
subsequent  carrying  out  of  the  thought.  Besides,  the  vanity 
of  human  efforts  is  specially  grounded  in  the  vanity  of  the 
sphere  in  which  they  are  put  forth.  And  that  vanity  is  pre- 
dicable  of  the  whole  of  that  sphere  in  respect  to  which  God 
spake  the  words  "  very  good,"  (Genesis  i.,)  is  evident  from  the 
sentence,  "in  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  die," 
— die  a  death  whose  crowning  point  is  Death  personally  so 
designated.  Other  evidence  to  the  same  effect  is  borne  by 
Romans  viii.  20,  according  to  which  the  irrational  creation  is 
subjected  to  vanity,  and  by  James  iv.  14,  where  our  life  is 
described  as  arfiig,  the  same  word  as  that  by  which  Aquila  has 
translated  hir\.  Not  only,  then,  are  human  efforts  vain, 
but  creation  also,  in  its  merely  natural  aspect,  may  be  included 
under  the  description  "  all  is  vanity."  The  true  solution  of  the 
problem  lies  here  : — Between  the  words  "  and  behold,  every- 
thing was  good,"  and  those  of  our  author,  "  all  is  vanity,"  the 
fall  of  man  has  intervened.  With  that,  an  entirely  new  order 
of  things  was  inaugurated.  To  man  in  his  degeneracy  God's 
creation,  though  good  in  itself,  was  no  longer  fitted.  Hence 
the  complaint,  "  all  is  vanity,"  is  not  a  charge  against  God, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  when  we  carefully  consider  the  nature 
and  constitution  of  man,  rather  a  praise  of  God.  It  is  just  in 
the  decreeing  of  punishment,  and  the  establishment  of  the 
economy  of  the  cross,  that  God  specially  manifests  His  glory 
and  greatness.  The  Berleburger  B^ble  observes  :  "  As  it  was 
said  in  the  beginning,  everything  is  good,  everything  is  very 

*  Si  cuncta  quaj  fecit  Deus  valde  bona  sunt,  quomodo  omnia  vanitas,  et 
non  solum  vanitas,  sed  etiam  vanitas  vanitatum  ?  Ut  sicut  in  Canticis  Canti- 
corum  inter  omnia  carmina  excellens  carmen  ostenditur  ita  in  vanitate  vanita- 
tum vanitatis  magnitude  monstretur. 


CHAPTER  I.   2-11.  49 

good,  so  also  will  it  once  again  be  said  regarding  the  creature, 
everything  is  preciovis  and  new,  everything  is  very  precious, 
good,  and  glorious."  "  All  is  vanity," — cannot  be  the  end  of 
God's  ways  :  it  can  only  be  a  point  of  transition.  The  end 
must  correspond  to  the  beginning.  The  words — "all  is 
vanity," — will  lose  the  sad  truth  they  have  as  respects  the 
present  course  of  the  world,  in  the  "  regeneration"  of  which 
our  Lord  speaks  in  Matthew  xix.  28,  in  that  blessed  age  de- 
picted by  Isaiah  in  chap.  xi.  of  his  prophecies,  and  by  Paul  in 
Romans  viii.  As  vanity  is  not  the  original,  so  can  it  not  be 
the  final  character  of  the  world's  constitution  and  course. 
Death,  the  climax  of  vanity,  entered  into  the  world  with  sin, 
(see  Genesis  ii.  17;  Komans  v.  1 2.)  And  therefore  when  sin 
has  been  completely  overcome,  death  also  will  cease,  (1  Cor.  xv. 
54  f)  and  as  it  is  said  in  Revelations  xxi.  4,  "  God  shall  wipe 
away  all  tears  from  their  eyes  ;  and  there  shall  be  no  more 
death,  neither  sorrow  nor  crying,  neither  shall  there  be  any 
more  pain,  for  the  former  things  are  passed  away."  All  the 
descriptions  of  this  future  contained  in  the  Scriptures,  pre-sup- 
pose  what  is  expressed  in  the  words,  "  All  is  vanity,"  for  they 
are  intended  to  give  courage  to  those  who  sigh  and  groan 
under  vanity,  and  to  save  them  from  despair.  So,  for  example, 
Isaiah  xxv.  6-8, — "  And  in  this  mountain  the  Lord  of  Hosts 
prepareth  unto  all  people  a  feast  of  fat  things,  a  feast  of  wines 
on  the  lees,  of  fat  things  full  of  marrow,  of  wines  on  the  lees 
well  refined.  And  He  destroyeth  in  this  mountain  the  face 
of  the  covering  with  which  all  nations  are  covered  over. 
(The  veil  as  the  sign  of  soitow.)  He  destroyeth  death  for 
ever,  and  the  Lord  God  wipeth  away  the  tears  from  all  faces." 
Further,  Isaiah  xxxv.  1  ft':  "  The  wilderness  and  the  solitary 
place  will  be  glad,  and  the  desert  will  rejoice  and  blossom 
as  the  rose.  Then  will  the  lame  man  leap  as  a  hart,  and  the 
tongue  of  the  dumb  sing :  for  in  the  wilderness  will  waters 
break  out  and  streams  in  the  desert.  The  parched  ground 
will  become  a  pool,  and  the  thirsty  land  streams  of  warer. 
Then  will  the  eyes  of  the  blind  be  opened,  and  the  ears  of  the 
deaf  be  unstopped."  But  a  fundamental  condition  of  our  pa  - 
ticipating  in  this  future  glory,  is  that  we  attain  to  a  clear  and 
deep  insight  into  the  significance  of  the  saying,  "  All  is  vanity," 
that  we  do  not  gild  over  our  present  misery.  Only  as  tliis 
D 


50  CHAPTER  I.  2-11. 

truth  is  distinctly  understood  and  intensely  felt,  will  its  effect 
be  to  drive  us  to  God,  who  is  our  everlasting  dwelHng-place, 
(Psalm  xc,)  and  to  arouse  us  to  repentance,  in  that  we  estimate 
the  extent  of  our  guilt  by  the  severity  of  the  sufferings  we 
have  to  endure.  Such  was  the  feeUng  of  Perthes  when  he 
wrote  after  the  death  of  his  beloved  wife,  "  an  immeasurable 
load  of  guilt  must  rest  on  us,  seeing  we  have  to  suffer  such  a 
loss."  De  Wette  brought  against  St  Paul  the  reproach,  that 
in  his  writings  we  encounter  sometimes  "  the  discordant  tone 
of  contempt  of  the  world."  He  who  with  such  eyes  considers 
the  words  "all  is  vanity,"  will  not  onlyretain  his  share  of  trouble, 

for  say  what  we  may,  the  world  is,  and  continues  to  be  a  vale  of 

tears,  notwithstanding  that  by  our  forced  laughter  we  should 
fancy  we  have  changed  it  into  a  house  of  gladness, — but  will 
wantonly  rob  himself  of  the  wholesome  fruit  of  his  sufferings. 
The  bringing  in  of  the  new  covenant  has  effected  no  alteration 
in  that  vanity  of  vanities  which  our  author  speaks  of  so  em- 
phatically. The  blessings  which  already  accrue  to  us  therefrom 
belong  to  an  order  of  things  entirely  different  from  that  which 
is  here  spoken  of  They  spring  not  forth  from  the  region 
beneath  the  sun  but  from  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  The  earth 
meanwhile  continues  its  existence  of  vanity,  and  in  this  its 
character  is  a  powerful  motive  pressing  men  to  appropriate  the 
heavenly  treasures  offered  by  the  Church. 

Ver.  3.  In  ver.  3,  is  given  the  result  which  follows  from 
ver.  2.  If  "  aU  is  vanity,"  what  profit  hath  man  ?  or  strictly 
"  the  earthly  one,  (Geier,  cum  aculeo  terrence  fmgilitatis)  of 
all  the  labour  which  he  taketh  under  the  sun?"  There  is 
much  ado  about  nothing.  One  who  has  arrived  at  a  know-* 
ledge  of  the  true  nature  of  this  world  receives  a  strange,  yea 
even  a  tragicomical  impression  when  he  sees  men  running  to 
and  fro,  and  seeking  to  snatch  the  prey  fi'om  each  other's 
grasp.  The  results,  too,  are  in  the  end  of  scarcely  greater* 
compass  and  importance  than  those  of  the  movements  of  an 
anthill.  And  then  joined  with  all  this,  the  airs  of  importance, 
and  the  pompous  phrases  about  progress  and  the  like.  The 
best  commentary  on  this  verse  is  furnished  by  the  beautiful 
hymn  of  Grypliius  beginning — "  The  glory  of  the  earth,  must 
at  last  become  smoke  and  ashes."  Interpreting  these  facts 
according  to  the  mind  of  the  Preacher  the  practical  result 


CHAPTER  I.   2-11.  51 

would  be  to  "  quit  the  world,  and  honour,  fear,  hope,  favour 
and  learning,  and  to  follow  only  the  Lord,  who  will  ever  rule, 
whom  time  cannot'  change,  and  who  can  confer  upon  us  eternal 
blessedness." 

Ver.  4.  The  subject  of  discourse  in  the  context  is  the 
vanity  of  everything  earthly,  and  the  consequent  fruitlessness 
of  human  efforts.  Ver.  4.  would  not  at  all  suit  the  connection 
in  which  it  stands,  unless  the  earth  be  regarded  as  the  scene 
of  vanity  and  misery  which  it  really  is.  The  generations  of 
men  are  continuallychanging,  ceaselessly  do  fresh  ones  appear  on 
the  scene,  but  0  !  misery !  the  earth,  against  which  the  curse 
recorded  in  Genesis  iii.  17-19  was  pronounced,  on  which  it  is 
impossible  to  reahse  permanent  results,  or  to  arrive  at  abiding 
happiness,  and  where  men  find  themselves  hemmed  in  on  all 
hands — that  remains.  The  new  generations  are  compelled 
always  to  begin  where  the  old  ones  ended.  That  old  fable, 
the  rolling  of  the  Sisyphus-stone,  is  illustrated  ever  afresh.* 
ch)]h  does  not  stand  in  contradiction  Avith  the  doctrine  of  the 
impending  termination  of  the  present  phase  of  the  earth's 
existence  found  elsewhere  in  the  Old  Testament.  As  in 
Genesis  vi.  4,  nhj?,  "  Time  far  back  beyond  the  memory  of 
men,"  so  here  it  designates  a  future  of  unmeasured  extent  : 
as  Rambach  has  it,  diutissivw  tempore,  cujus  terminus  nobis 
occuUus  est 

Ver.  5.  The  sun  here  can  only  be  employed  as  an  image  of 
human  existence  which  is  straitly  confined  within  the  limits 
of  vanity.  The  natural  event  cannot,  considered  in  itself,  be 
treated  as  a  subject  of  complaint,  but  only  as  one  of  joyous 
wonder  and  admiration,  as  is  clear  from  Psalm  xix.  The  mere 
natural  rising  and  settino-  of  the  sun  would  not  form  a  suitable 
step  in  the  development  of  the  thought,  "  vanity  of  vanities," 
which  is  the  subject  of  the  writer's  comments  on  to  the  11th 
verse,  and  wliich  must  consequently  furnish  the  test  of  the 
correctness  of  our  explanation  of  all  that  occurs  up  to  that 
point.  The  sun  eagerly  running  through  a  long  course,  in 
order  at  last  to  return  to  the  goal  from  which  it  started  is  a 
true  image  of  human  life  shut  up  within  the  impassable  magio- 

*  Quite  improperly  says  Jerome,  "  quid  hac  vanius  vanitate,  quam  terram, 
manere,  quaa  hominum  causa  facta  est,  et  ipsum  hominem,  terrae  dominum,  in 
pulverem  repente  dissolvi." 


52  CHAPTER  I.   2-11. 

circle  of  vanity.  The  human  race  seems  unable  to  move  a  step. 
A  new  generation  always  begins  where  the  old  one  ended. 
Notwithstanding  all  our  much  vaunted  progress,  we  continue 
mainly  such  as  we  were  of  old,  "  burdened  with  an  inheritance 
of  sin,  with  weakness,  with  want  and  death."  "  That  there  is 
motion,  cannot  be  denied :  but  it  is  motion  in  a  circle,  and 
consequently  leads  to  no  result,"  (Hitzig.)  Following  the 
example  of  the  Chaldee  version,  of  the  Septuagint  and  of  the 
Vvilgate  Luther  connects  ixijy  ioip»  hii) — "  And  hasteth  to  his 
place  that  he  may  there  rise  again."  But  this  mode  of  con- 
necting the  words  is  contrary  to  the  accents,  according  to 
which  «iKVi^  must  belong  to  what  succeeds :  and  besides, 
without  any  justification  from  usage,  it  takes  the  word  ISB^ 
in  the  signification  of  "  to  run,  to  hasten."  The  usual  mean- 
ing of  ix'^  is  "  to  snap  at,  to  hanker  after,  anything  ;"  in  which 
sense  it  is  employed  here  also — "  And  (coones  then  again)  to 
its  place  ivhere  it  longingly  arises."  isic'  corresponds  to  the 
expression  found  in  Psalm  xix.  6,  "  He  rejoices  as  a  hero  to  run 
his  course."  The  first  verb  furnishes  greater  definiteness  to 
the  second;  Ewald,  §  285.  A  new  generation  advancing  to 
life  with  fresh  courage,  resembles  the  sun  in  its  longing,  its 
joyousness,  its  eagerness,     ^s  includes  the  verb. 

Ver.  6.  In  this  verse  "  is  described  the  vanity  of  the  wind, 
which  is  continually  moving  round  and  round  in  a  circle,  and 
through  its  swiftness  does  not  succeed  in  passing  beyond  this 
circle."  Here  also  it  is  quite  plain  that  the  author  has  no  in- 
tention of  blaming  anything  in  the  order  and  arrangements  of 
nature — a  thing  which  would  have  been  revolting  and  ab- 
surd-— but  that  the  wind  comes  under  consideration  only  as  a 
symbol  of  human  existence  revolving  constantly  in  the  circle 
of  vanity  and  unable  to  transcend  its  bounds  however  mighty 
may  be  the  efforts  put  forth.  The  entire  verse  has  reference 
to  the  wind,  and  it  is  fruitless  when  the  Septuagint,  the 
Syriac,  Geier,  and  others,  try  to  refer  the  first  clause  to  the 
sun  :  "  which  turns  not  towards  the  North."  South  and  North 
are  mentioned  in  the  case  of  the  wind,  because  East  and 
West  were  used  of  the  sun.  The  nu''3D  of  the  wind  are  the 
turns  which  it  has  already  made. 

Ver  7.  As  the  water  of  brooks  goes  first  into  the  sea  and 
then  returns  back  to  the  brooks,  so  is  there  in  human  affairs 


CHAPTER  I.   2-11.  53 

no  real  result,  no  progress,  no  overstepping  of  the  limit  of 
vanity :  the  old  misery  manifests  itself  ever  afresh.  Luther 
recognised  the  symbolical  character  of  the  verse,  but  did  not 
altogether  hit  upon  a  right  view  of  the  thought  contained  in 
it.  Says  he,  "  we  have  in  these  words  a  subtle  comparison  : 
all  men's  proposals,  all  their  devices,  efforts,  care,  by  which 
they  hope  to  help  the  matter,  rise  with  the  sun,  and  go  down 
again  ;  like  the  water,  too,  they  flow  hither  and  thither  ;  that 
is,  being  mere  human  thoughts,  without  God's  work  and  fur- 
therance, they  remain  just  what  they  were.  Let  that  man 
whose  thoughts  either  do  not,  or  have  not  come  to  nought, 
blot  out  what  Solomon  says."  That  the  sea  never  becomes 
full  is  a  proof  that  the  streams  must  return  again  to  the  place 
whence  they  came.  We  must  render  the  words,  "  to  the 
place  from  which  the  streams  go  out."  Luther's  translation  is 
correct,  "  to  the  place  whence  they  flow,  they  flow  back  again." 
The  Construct  State  which  causes  the  whole  following  sentence 
to  be  treated  as  a  noun  is  employed  in  the  same  manner  in 
Psalm  civ.  8,  "  unto  the  place  which  thou  hast  founded  for 
them."  As  to  the  way  and  manner  in  which  the  waters  re- 
turn to  their  source  commentators  are  not  agreed.  Luther 
thinks  "  the  waters  run  without  ceasing  into  the  sea,  and 
then  by  secret  subterraneous  passages  or  channels  run  from 
the  sea  as  fountains  and  brooks  filtering  through  the  earth  at 
their  place,  penetrating  and  running  through  mountains  and 
rocks."  It  is,  however,  much  simpler  to  assume  that  the 
streams  return  to  their  sources  through  the  medium  of  the 
clouds.  Compare  Genesis  ii.  6,  "  and  there  went  up  mists 
from  the  earth  and  watered  the  whole  face  of  the  gTOund  :" 
Job  xxxvi.  27,  28,  "  For  he  draws  forth  the  drops  of  water, 
they  pour  down  rain  from  the  vapour  thereof  Thence  run 
the  clouds,  distil  much  upon  men."  In  respect  of  natural 
processes  the  Scriptures  do  not  enter  upon  doubtful  hypo- 
theses. They  always  confine  themselves  to  that  which  pre- 
sents itself  to  the  eye  of  the  general  observer,  to  that  which 
is  undeniable.  Some  have  deemed  it  possible  entirely  to 
evade  the  consideration  of  the  problem  here  presented,  and 
they  translate,  "  Whither  the  streams  go,  thither  go  they 
ever  again  :"  i.e.,  they  pursue  incessantly  the  same  course  into 
the  sea.      Accordino-  to  this  version  there  would  be  no  refer- 


54  CHAPTER  I.   2-11. 

ence  whateVer  to  the  return  of  the  rivers  to  their  sources. 
In  such  a  case,  however,  it  is  impossible  to  see  what  purpose 
is  served  by  the  words,  "  and  the  sea  becomes  not  full." 

Ver.  8.  In  interpreting  the  first  half  of  this  verse  all  de- 
pends on  whether  we  take  nnai  in  the  sense  of  things,  in 
which  it  is  employed  in  chap.  vi.  11,  vii.  8,  or  in  that  of 
words.  The  former  view  is  adopted  by  Luther.  He  trans- 
lates, "All  men's  doing  is  so  full  of  toil,  that  no  one  can 
utter  it."*  On  this  view  the  words  would  be  more  accurately 
rendered — "  All  things  are  so  weary,  that  no  one  can  utter 
it,"  that  is,  they  are  inexpressibly  weary.  Usage  does  not 
allow  of  any  further  meaning  being  given  to  yj''  than  that  of 
"  weary."  Tediousness  or  weariness  in  the  things  corresponds 
to  ennui  in  the  individual  person.  Nothing  goes  on  with 
vigour  and  freshness :  spur  and  whip  are  everywhere  neces- 
sary :  the  world  seems  to  have  outlived  itself,  for  ever  since 
the  time  spoken  of  in  Genesis  iii.,  it  has  been  under  the  ho-jXua 
rric,  (p&ooag  (Romans  viii.  21).  From  Genesis  iii.  17,  "cursed 
be  the  ground  for  thy  sake,  with  pain  shalt  thou  eat  of  it 
aU  the  days  of  thy  life,"  we  should  judge  the  ground  itself 
to  be  weary :  it  no  longer  hastens  to  give  unto  man  its 
strength  :  all  has  to  be  pressed  and  wrung  from  it  by  labour. 
This  interpretation,  though  in  some  respects  very  admir- 
able, has  against  it  the  correspondence  between  Dn2T  and 
"131  "  to  speak  " — a  correspondence  which  is  scarcely  to  be 
denied.  This  would  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  the  former 
word  is  employed  here  in  the  signification  "  words,"  which  is 
the  original  one,  besides  being  predominant  in  this  book. 
Accordingly  we  should  find  a  parallel  to  the  whole  of  the 
first  half  of  the  verse  in  Psalm  xl.  5,  where  it  is  said  in  re- 
spect of  the  wonderful  works  of  God,  "I  will  declare  and 
speak  of  them  ;  they  are  more  than  can  be  numbered."  What 
is  unutterable,  inexpressible,  we  are  not  here  distinctly  in- 
formed :  but  the  context  leaves  us  in  no  doubt  on  that 
matter,  inasmuch  as  from  verse  2  onwards  nothing  else  is 
spoken  of  but  human  misery.  Words  fail  to  describe  it,  and 
however  many  we  may  employ,  the  description  ever  falls  far 

*  On  this  view  Rambach  gives  the  sense  as  follows :  Dici  non  potest  quan- 
tum laboris  et  defatigationis  rebus  et  negotiis,  humanis  omnibus  insit.  Quid- 
quid  dixeris,  semper  major  restabit  dicendi  materia. 


CHAPTER  I.  2-11.  55 

short  of  the  reality.  Ever  since  the  day  referred  to  in  Gene- 
sis iii.  man  has  been  the  prey  of  an  indescribable  sorrow.  The 
words,  the  eye  is  not  satisfied  with  seeing,  nor  the  ear  with 
hearing,  find  their  commentary  in  chapter  iv.  8,  where  "lus 
eye  is  not  satisfied  with  riches,"  describes  an  insatiable  desire 
for  them  ;  and  further  in  Proverbs  xxvii.  20,  where  the  in- 
satiability of  the  eyes  of  men  also  stands  for  desire  that  con- 
not  be  satisfied ;  "  Hell  and  destruction  are  never  full,  so  the 
eyes  of  man  are  never  satisfied."  That  man  never  finds  satis- 
faction in  earthly  things,  but  on  the  contrary  is  ever  asking 
for  yet  more  and  more,  is  a  sign  of  their  emptiness.  Such 
being  their  nature  they  can  never  fill  the  heart.  It  is  in 
this  respect  that  they  come  under  consideration  in  this  place, 
and  the  two  halves  of  the  verse  agree  therefore  in  the  thought 
of  the  vanity  of  all  things  earthly.  The  first  describes  it  as 
unutterable  ;  the  second  appeals  for  proof  of  the  assertion  to 
their  inability  to  appease  and  fill  the  heart  of  man.  Luther 
says,  "  an  exemplification  of  this  may  be  found  in  that  re- 
nowned king  and  praiseworthy  hero,  Alexander  the  Great. 
In  a  very  brief  space  of  time  (for  in  all  he  did  not  reign  more 
than  twelve  years)  he  subjugated  to  himself  a  large  portion  of 
the  whole  world  :  and  notwithstanding,  once  upon  a  time, 
when  he  heard  a  philosopher  arguing  that  there  are  more 
worlds  than  one,  he  sighed  deeply,  and  said,  '  Alas  !  that  I 
have  not  as  yet  subdued  more  than  one  world  f  So,  if  he 
had  at  once  gained  ten  other  worlds,  his  heart  would  not 
have  found  rest :  nay  more,  it  would  not  have  been  satisfied 
with  a  thousand,  or  even  with  countless  worlds."  What  we 
have  already  fails  to  please  us,  and  we  long  for  that  which 
we  have  not.  Knobel's  view  of  the  passage,  that  "  the  satis- 
fying of  the  eye  and  the  filling  of  the  ear  describes  the  com- 
ing to  a  termination  with  the  study  and  meditation  of  things," 
is  opposed  to  the  parallel  place,  besides  being  contrary  to  the 
natural  meaning  of  such  modes  of  speech.  The  eye  is  satisfied 
when  we  have  no  desire  to  see  more,  the  ear  is  filled  when 
we  wish  to  hear  no  more.  In  the  Berleburger  Bible  it  is  re- 
marked, "  by  the  entrances  of  the  soul  so  many  thousands  of 
objects  or  things  are  carried  into  the  heart,  that  man  wearies 
and  distracts  himself  with  them  as  with  an  infinite  sandhill. 
Out  of  these  his  heart  forms  for  him  innumerable  images  which 


56  CHAPTEK  I.   2-]l. 

he  contemplates  and  inwardly  busies  himself  with.  Thence 
arise  the  manifold  thoughts  and  distracted  feehngs  of  us 
miserable  men.  This  is  the  caus^  that,  through  apostacy 
from  the  eternal  good,  from  the  Creator,  our  hearts  go  forth 
towards  a  multiplicity  of  objects,  and,  instead  of  desiring  and 
laying  hold  on  God  alone,  who  would  have  been  an  eternally 
satisfying  portion,  long  for  and  grasp  at  thousands  of  created 
objects,  and  still  never  realise  contentment.  It  is  indeed  im- 
possible that  the  immortal  soul  of  man  should  rest  in  crea- 
tures which  are  vanity.  It  seeks  ever  further  and  desires 
ever  more  :  it  is  like  a  fire  which  burns  on  without  ceasing, 
and  would  fain  bring  all  within  its  grasp.  But  now  that  it 
is  faint,  and  out  of  its  true  element  and  life,  which  is  God, 
behold,  the  soul  finds  itself  deceived,  led  astray  and  threat- 
ened with  ruin  by  all  creatures,  finds  that  it  has  wasted  its 
time  and  energies  on  things  without  use,  and  knows  not  an 
object  to  which  it  may  cling." 

Ver.  9.  Notwithstanding  all  the  fancies  and  illusions  re- 
garding new  and  glorious  things  which  men  bring  forward  it 
is  now  as  it  was  of  old.  "  That  which  is  done"  is  here  con- 
sidered in  its  results,  and  is  consequently  closely  connected 
with  that  which  is.  Being  (Seyn)  continues  ever  what  it  was 
of  old :  consequently  the  results  of  doing,  of  action,  cannot 
show  any  very  important  difference.  Becavise  the  old  was  bad,  it 
is  a  great  evil  that  there  is  nothing  new  under  the  sun.  There 
is  no  alternative  but  to  recur  ever  to  the  words,  "  Cursed  is 
the  ground  for  thy  sake."  Man  cannot  escape  out  of  the 
charmed  circle  into  which  he  was  driven  by  the  sentence  pro-, 
nounced  in  Genesis  iii.,  be  his  exertions  what  they  may.  All 
progTess  is  but  vain  show  and  loose  varnish.  For  example, 
the  old  covenant,  "  thou  shalt  die,"  still  retains  its  force,  not- 
withstanding all  the  progress  that  has  been  made  in  the  heal- 
ing art.  Luther  remarks,  "  if  we  understand  these  words  of 
the  works  of  God,  they  are  not  true  :  for  God  works  and  ever 
produces  something  new  :  it  is  only  men  and  children  of  Adam 
who  effect  nothing  new."  This  is  perfectly  well  grounded. 
We  have  here  to  do  with  Negative  Philosophy,  which  searches 
into  the  nature  of  things  apart  from  God.  The  author's  intent  is 
to  show  what  is  the  matter  with  earthly  and  human  affairs 
considered  in  themselves,  to  tear  up  by  the  roots  the  countless 


CHAPTER  I.   2-11.  57 

illusions  to  wliicli  the  natural  man  so  readily  resigns  himself, 
and  by  which  he  frustrates  the  purpose  of  the  divine  judgment 
pronounced  in  Genesis  iii.  The  vanity  of  earthly  things  can 
only  lead  men  to  God  when  it  is  thoroughly  felt  and  under- 
stood. For  parallels  to  the  words,  there  is  nothing  new 
under  the  sun,  reference  may  be  made  to  Jeremiah  xxxi.  22, 
"  behold  I  create  a  new  thing  in  the  land,"  and  to  Isaiah  Ixv. 
17,  "behold  I  create  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth,  and  the 
former  shall  not  be  remembered  nor  come  into  mind,"  (compare 
Ixvi.  22.)  In  Matthew  xix.  28,  the  Lord  promises  the  regen- 
eration or  the  renewal  of  the  world.  According  to  2  Peter 
iii.  1 3,  "  we  look  for  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth,  wherein 
dwelleth  righteousness."  In  the  Apocalypse,  chapter  xxi.  1, 
John  sees  a  "new  heaven  and  a  new  earth,  for  the  first 
heaven  and  the  first  earth  were  passed  away."  He  who  sits 
on  the  throne  says  there,  in  verse  5,  "behold  I  make  all  things 
new."  According  to  chapter  xxi.  2,  "  the  holy  city,  the  new 
Jerusalem,  descends  from  heaven."  At  the  bottom  of  all  these 
passages  lies  the  tacit  presupposition  that  "  there  is  nothing 
new  under  the  sun."  The  assumption  from  which  they  start 
is  that  the  old  earth  is  a  scene  of  vanity,  that  all  efforts  to 
change  it,  originating  in  and  depending  on  its  own  resources, 
are  utterly  fruitless,  and  that  a  true  alteration  cannot  be 
effected  from  below,  but  only  from  above.  They  comfort  us 
also  in  the  midst  of  the  misery  which  is  our  lot,  by  the  as- 
surance that  a  renewal  from  above  ^vi]l  in  fact  be  accomplished. 
The  new  creation  wiU  begin  at  the  point  where  vanity  took 
its  rise,  even  with  man :  "  if  any  man  be  in  Christ,  he  is 
a  new  creature,  old  things  are  passed  away,  behold  all  things 
are  become  new,"  (2  Corinthians  v.  17.)  Thence  will  the 
renovation  pass  to  the  rest  of  creation.  Nothing  new  is 
done  under  the  sun — this  should  serve  to  bring  do^vn  the 
lofty  imaginations  which  would  gather  grapes  from  the  tliorns 
of  this  w-orld,  but  not  to  discourage  the  friends  of  the  king- 
dom of  God,  whose  true  seat  is  not  under  the  sim,  but  above 
it,  and  whose  heavenly  protector,  by  ever  creating  new  things, 
furnishes  materials  for  new  songs,  (Psalm  xl.  8.) 

Ver.  10.  Many  an  undertaking  gives  promise  at  its  com- 
mencement of  passing  beyond  the  limits  fixed  by  the  old 
curse-laden  world.      The  world  exultingly  shouts  them  wel- 


58  CHAPTER  I.   2-11. 

come.  But  very  soon  it  becomes  evident  that  in  them  also  a 
worm  is  concealed,  and  they  sink  down  to  a  level  with  that 
which  our  poor  earth  has  produced  in  former  ages.  So  was  it 
with  the  happiness  of  the  days  of  Solomon,  in  the  background 
of  which  there  lay  decay  and  ruin,  and  whose  end  was  such, 
that  men  were  driven  to  exclaim,  "  Lord  have  mercy,"  and, 
"  Oh !  that  thou  wouldest  rend  the  heavens  and  wouldest 
come  down  !"  It  still  remains  a  truth  that  "here  is  no  true 
good  to  be  found,  and  what  the  world  holds  in  itself  must 
vanish  in  a  moment." 

Ver.  11.  A  fond  dream  of  this  world  is  to  possess  the  im- 
mortality of  renown.  Even  this  barren  consolation  is  here 
taken  away,  and  so  a  conclusion  is  made  to  the  development 
of  the  thought  contained  in  ver.  3,  that  man  has  no  profit  of 
all  the  labour  which  he  taketh  under  the  sun.  In  accordance 
with  the  sentiment  of  tliis  verse  is  the  hymn  by  Joh.  Pappus, 
"I  have  committed  my  cause  to  God;"*  and  another  by 
Andreas  Gryphius,  of  which  verses  are  quoted  below.-f-  Con- 
trary to  the  divergent  explanations  of  these  verses,  it  is  to  be 
observed  that  D>:tJ'«"i  and  D''jnns  are  always  "  the  earlier"  and 
"the  later,"  See  Leviticus  xxvi.  45  ;  Deuteronomy  xix.  14  ; 
Psalm  Ixxix.  8 ;  Isaiah  Ixi.  4  ;  xli.  4 ;  Ecclesiastes  iv.  1 6.  "The 
earlier,"  (neuter  gender,)  is  nutrsn  in  Isaiah  xlii.  9.  The 
parallel  passages  also  in  chap.  ii.  16;  ix.  5,  serve  to  put  aside 
eveiy  other  explanation. 


In  chap.  i.  12,-ii.  26,  Koheleth  demonstrates  the  vanity  of 
earthly  things,  from  his  own  example — from  his  own  personal 


"  Man  tragt  eins  nach  dem  Andern  hin 
Wohl  aiis  den  Augen  und  aus  dem  Sinn 
Die  Welt  vergisset  imser  bald 
Sey  jung  oder  alt 
Auch  unserer  Ehren  mannigfalt." 

"  Der  Ruhm  nach  dem  wir  trachten 
Den  wir  unsterblich  achten 
1st  nur  ein  falscher  Wahn, 
Sobald  der  Geist  gewichen 
Und  dieser  Mund  verblichen 
Fragt  Keiner  was  man  hier  gethan." 


CHAPTER  I.  12-18.  59 

He  begins  in  chap.  i.  12-18,  with  Wisdom. 
This  was  one  of  the  brilliant  possessions  of  the  age  of  Solomon, 
as  may  be  seen  from  1  Kings  x.  8,  where  the  Queen  of  Sheba 
says,  "  Happy  are  thy  men,  happy  are  these  thy  servants, 
which  stand  continually  before  thee  and  behold  thy  wisdom," 
(compare  Matthew  xii.  42,)  and  back  to  it  the  after-world 
looked,  with  all  the  more  astonished  admiration  and  painfid  long- 
ing, because  even  the  heathen  nations,  under  whose  scorn  and 
contempt  they  sighed,  Avere  struck  by  it  with  amazement.  In 
the  delineation  of  the  glory  of  Solomon  given  in  1  Kings  x., 
wisdom  occupies  the  first  place  :  then  follows  riches.  Hitzig's 
account  of  the  contents  and  connection  of  verses  1 2-1 8  is  as 
follows :  "  the  speaker  tells  who  he  is  and  how  he  has  come 
thus  to  express  himself.  He  has  maturely  reflected  on  the 
works  and  ways  of  men,  and  found  that  they  are  feeble  and 
foolish,  verses  12-15.  Moreover,  according  to  his  experience, 
the  wisdom  which  one  may  gain  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  a 
good."  The  subject  of  the  entire  section  is  rather  wisdom,  and 
the  vanity  of  earthly  things  and  of  human  efforts  comes  under 
consideration  only  so  far  as  it  conditions  the  vanity  of  wisdom. 
In  verse  13,  the  assertion  is  made,  the  thesis  is  maintained, 
that  "  wisdom  is  not  a  good  but  a  plague."  The  following  is 
the  proof  Earthly  things  which  are  the  object  of  wisdom  are 
vanity,  and  the  more  deeply  we  search,  the  more  distinctly  is 
their  vanity  seen.  Wisdom  destroys  illusions.  The  possession 
of  wisdom,  therefore,  can  only  bring  distress  and  pain.  The 
wiser  a  man  is,  the  more  unhappy.  If  the  world  is  nothing 
and  vanity,  the  wisdom,  the  science  of  this  world  cannot  be 
of  much  value. 

Failing  to  see  that  this  section  has  exclusive  reference  to 
wisdom,  we  shall  also  mistake  the  entire  course  of  thought. 
In  the  following  verses,  there  is  a  continuation  of  the  proof  of 
the  vanity  of  earthly  things  from  Solomon's  own  personal 
experience.  Here  wisdom  is  the  subject :  before,  it  was  the 
possession  and  enjoyment  of  the  good  things  of  this  world. 

Ver.   1 2.  /  Koheleth  was  King  over  Israel  in  Jerusalem. 


*  Hieronymus :  hue  usque  proefatio  generaliter  de  omnibus  disputantis :  nunc 
ad  semitipsum  redit,  et  quis  fuerit,  quomodo  experimento  universa  cognoverit 
docet. 


GO  CHAPTER  I.  12-18. 

Yer.  13.  'And  I  gave  my  heart  to  seek  and  search  out  hywis- 
doni  concerning  everything  that  is  done  under  the  sun  :  this 
is  a  sore  travail  tvhich  God  hath  given  to  the  sons  of  men,  that 
they  may  exercise  themselves  therewith.  Ver.  14./  saw  all 
the  xvorlcs  that  are  done  under  the  sun,  and  behold,  all  is  vanity 
and  delusive  effort.  Ver.  15.  That  which  is  crooked  cannot 
he  m^ade  straight,  and  that  which  is  wanting  cannot  be  reck- 
oned. Ver.  16.  /  communed  with  tnine  own  heart  and  said, 
Lo,  I  have  increased  and  gotten  more  wisdom  than  all  that 
tuere  before  me  in  Jerusalevi,  and  my  heart  saiu  much  ivisdom 
and  knowledge.  Ver.  1 7.  And  I  gave  m,y  heart  to  knoiv  wisdom 
and  the  knoivledge  of  madness  and  folly  :  I  perceived  that  this 
also  is  delusive  effort.  Ver.  18.  For  in  much  ^visdora  is 
much  grief  and  he  that  increaseth  knoivledge  increaseth 
sorrow. 

Ver.  1 2.  Kolieleth  refers  first  of  all  to  his  royal  position. 
For  the  matter  in  hand  this  is  of  no  small  importance.  If 
the  life  of  earth  could  oiFer  genuine  good  it  must  undoubtedly 
have  been  at  the  command  of  the  king.*  Even  in  regard  to 
wisdom  his  position  has  its  advantages.  He  has  a  wide  and 
extensive  view  of  all  that  is  done  under  heaven  {ver.  13). 
The  whole  region  of  human  life  lies  spread  out  before  him. 
His  position  is  much  more  favourable  than  that  of  the  man 
who  philosopliizes  in  a  narrow  corner.  He  is  still  more 
favoured  as  regards  those  regions  which  are  spoken  of  in 
chap,  ii  1  fi!  Koheleth  says — /  vjas  king.  According  to 
Ewald,  Elster,  and  others,  the  preterite  employed  here  is  in- 
tended to  indicate  the  historical  point  of  view  of  the  author, 
for  which  Solomon's  life  was  so  completely  a  something  past 
and  gone,  that  he  involuntarily  represents  Solomon  as  speak- 
ing of  his  owTi  life  in  the  preterite.  In  point  of  fact,  how- 
ever, the  use  of  the  preterite  is  no  argument  against  Solo- 
mon's being  the  author  of  the  book.  Nor,  if  the  composition 
is  assigned  to  a  later  period,  is  it  a  proof  of  its  fictitious  char- 
acter that  the  writer  in  this  place  forgets  himself.  The  pre- 
terite is  very  frequently  employed  in  descriptions  of  a  past 
which  stretches  forward  into  the  present,  and  therefore  is  it 


*  Cartwright,  "ut  nihil  subsidii  deesset,  cujus  beneticio,  quod  assectatus  sum, 
assequerer." 


CHAPTER  I.   12-18,  61 

remarked,  with  perfect  justice,  in  the  Berleburger  Bible — "  I 
the  preacher  have  been  king  thus  far,  and  am  one  still :  to 
him  therefore  there  has  been  no  lack  of  opportunity  of  trying- 
experiments  and  of  getting  experience."  The  words,  In  Jeru- 
salem, need  not,  as  has  been  affirmed,  be  supposed  to  refer  to 
another  kingship  which  had  not  its  seat  in  Jerusalem.  They 
are  meant  to  remind  us  that  Koheleth  had  gone  through  the 
experiences  of  which  he  speaks  in  that  very  place  whose  com- 
plainings and  sighings  gave  rise  to  the  composition  of  this 
work. 

Ver\  13.  Koheleth  informs  us  that  his  efforts  to  search - 
out  the  nature  of  things  had  yielded  wretched  results.  Con- 
cerning the  relation  to  each  other  of  the  two  verbs  \y-\-i  and 
"iin  Hitzig  remarks—"  That  which  withdrew  itself  from  the 
gaze  of  the  'C^in,  that  which  lay  deeper,  that  which  was  secret 
he  sought  to  explore!'  But  iin  is  not  "  search  after,  spy  out," 
but  "  try  thoroughly,  test,"  (see  Deuteronomy  i.  33,  Numbers 
X.  33,  Ezekiel  xx.  6)  ;  taken  strictly  it  signifies  "to  follow 
the  trace  of  things,"  as  opposed  to  a  decision  which  is  arrived 
at  from  preconceived  opinions.  Hitzig  says  further — "  It  is 
not  meant  that  he  set  himself  to  collect  facts  :  he  did  not 
need  to  inquire  what  it  is  that  takes  place,  but  what  is  the 
nature  of  that  which  takes  place."  To  this  view  we  are 
directed  not  only  by  the  word  iin,  here  rightly  explained,  but 
further  also  by  the  construction  with  hv-  Investigations  are 
set  on  foot  in  respect  of  material  lying  ready  to  hand.  The 
Vulgate  translates  nn^nn  by  sapienter ;  Luther  by  "  wisely." 
But  this  rather  dissipates  the  force  of  the  v/ord.  It  is  wis- 
dom that  is  the  catchword.  "Nor  is  it  without  good  reason 
that  the  word  is  pointed  with  the  article.  Wisdom  is  the 
instrument  employed  in  carrying  out  the  investigation.  The 
object  of  the  investigation  is  all  that  is  done  or  happens 
under  the  sun.  We  are  not  to  suppose,  however,  that  it  re- 
fers predominantly,  much  less  exclusively,  to  the  moral  as- 
pects of  human  action,  but  rather,  as  appears  from  a  comparison 
of  ver.  1 5  with  chap.  vii.  1 3,  mainly  to  the  results  thereof  All 
that  takes  place  beneath  the  sun  belongs  to  the  sphere  which 
had  its  origin  in  the  fall  of  man,  is  tainted  Avith  sin,  and  is 
attended  by  sin's  fell  train  of  suffering  and  punishment. 
Everywhere  the  earth  shows  itself  to   be  a  scene  of  vanity. 


62  CHAPTER  I.  12-18. 

"  Ah  !  how  vain,  how  fleeting,  are  the  days  of  man  !  Like  a 
stream  that  begins  its  flow  and  never  stays  in  its  course,  so 
hurries  our  time  away.  Ah  !  how  vain,  how  fleeting  are  the 
joys  of  men !  As  the  hours  and  seasons,  as  light  and  dark- 
ness, as  peace  and  conflict,  so  change  our  pleasures."  The 
business  of  searching  more  deeply  into  earthly  things  by 
means  of  wisdom  is  described  as  a  vexing  misfortvme  which 
God  has  apportioned  to  the  sons  of  men  that  they  may  vex 
themselves  with  it.  Following  in  the  steps  of  the  LXX.  seve- 
ral commentators  explain  the  words  as  follow — "  that  is  an 
evil  business  which  God  has  appointed  to  the  children  of  men, 
that  they  may  busy  themselves  with  it."  But  njy  elsewhere 
occurs  only  in  the  signification  of  "  to  suffer ;"  for  this  reason 
therefore  the  word  l^^V,  which  is  never  met  with  out  of  this 
book,  and  which  here  stands  in  the  Stat,  constr.,  can  only 
signify  "  suffering,  vexation."  It  has  the  same  meaning  also 
in  chap.  v.  2,  and  in  all  other  places.  In  ver.  18  chagrin 
and  pain  correspond.  Hitzig  wishes  to  refer  the  words — 
This  is  a  sore  travail  ^uhich  God  hath  given  to  the  sons  of  men 
that  they  may  exercise  themselves  therewith — to  that  which 
happens,  which  is  done.  It  is  quite  clear,  however,  that  they 
refer  to  the  search  instituted  by  means  of  wisdom.  The  as- 
sertion that  in  this  way  verses  17  and  18  are  anticipated 
rests  on  a  mistaken  view  of  the  connection  between  the  verses 
of  this  section.  The  words  at  the  close — /  recognised  also 
that  this  is  empty  effort — manifestly  take  up  again  the  theme 
of  the  commencement  after  proof  has  been  advanced.  To  our 
mind  verses  17  and  18  render  it  impossible  to  understand  by 
the  "sore  travail"  any  thing  but  wisdom  in  search  of  truth. 
The  affliction  does  not  consist,  as  Clericus  conceived,  merely 
in  the  misuse  of  the  gift,  but  in  the  gift  itself.  More  deeply 
examined,  however,  it  is  a  wholesome  affliction.  That  which 
is  bitter  to  the  mouth  is  healthy  for  the  heart.  Tliat  deeper 
view  of  the  vanity  of  earthly  things  which  wisdom  affords 
drives  us  nearer  to  God.  Thus  we  see  that  wisdom  is  a 
part  of  the  great  apparatus  by  which  God  humbles  fallen 
man  and  prepares  the  way  for  his  redemption.  Wisdom  pre- 
sents other  aspects  also  for  consideration  besides  that  which 
lias  here  been  noted.  And  even  if  that  which  has  been  here 
especially  under  view  is  but  one  side  of  the  truth,  it  is  stiU 


CHAPTER  I.  12-18.  63 

the  most  important  side.  Tlius  much  may  be  regarded  as 
settled — that  inasmuch  as  wisdom  yields  so  melancholy  a  re- 
sult, it  cannot  be  the  highest  good,  it  cannot  be  that  good 
which  will  satisfy  the  wretched  heart  of  man.  Earthly  things 
must  be  far  other  than  they  are,  before  wisdom  can  quicken 
and  refresh  the  soul.  Some  have  thought  that  the  author's 
reason  for  calling  the  efforts  put  forth  in  search  of  wisdom  a 
sore  travail  was,  "  that  they  do  not  afford  distinct  informal 
tion  relative  to  the  cause  and  connection  of  the  processes  of 
human  hfe."  This  is  however  a  mere  guess.  Koheleth  in- 
forms us  afterwards  why  he  deems  wisdom  a  sore  travail. 
The  only  ground  assigned  by  him  is,  that  that  which  has 
only  the  effect  of  placing  in  a  clearer  light  the  vanity  under 
which  men  groan,  must  itself  also  be  vanity :  that  is,  con- 
sidered simply  in  itself  and  apart  from  the  service  it  renders 
as  a  means  to  another  end,  wisdom  is  not  a  good  but  a  sor- 
row, is  not  at  all  a  thing  for  whose  sake  Solomon  and  his  age 
should  be  envied,  for  whose  loss  we  should  vex  ourselves.  It 
is  thoroughly  true,  as  has  been  said,  that  "  a  man  is  foolish 
who  vexes  himself  about  a  handful  of  vanity  when  God  pre- 
sents him  with  treasures  which  ever  abide.  If  thy  gains  are 
counted  by  thousands  why  trouble  thyself  about  a  mite  ?" 

Ver.  14.  As  part  of  the  proof  of  his  thesis — this  is  a 
sore  travail,  the  author  now  asserts  the  vanity  of  the  object 
with  which  wisdom  is  occupied.  Ewald  translates — "  all  the 
deeds  which  take  place  under  the  sun:"  but  m'V^  does  not 
signify  "  deed"  but  "  matter  of  fact."  Of  course  "  the  ways  of 
men"  are  referred  to,  but  specially  in  respect  to  their 
consequences,  to  such  facts  as  those  which  gave  rise  to  the 
heathenish  saying,  "  the  Gods  are  envious,"  and  which  the 
Poet  had  in  his  eye  when  he  wi'ote,  "  He  who  had  shown 
himself  as  a  Lion,  who  had  AVi-estled  with  the  Giant,  was 
overcome  by  a  little  straw."  The  words  myn  and  \V]}'^  are  pecu- 
liar to  Koheleth.  The  usage  of  speech  in  Chaldee  from  which 
they  are  evidently  borrowed,  decides  their  meaning.  In  Ezra 
V.  17,  we  find  myn  used  in  the  sense  of  "will:"  in  Daniel 
several  times  in  the  sense  of  "  thought."  The  derivation  of 
the  words  is  consequently  sought  in  nyi,  "  to  feed,"  then  "  to 
feed  oneself  on  anything,"  "  to  busy  oneself  with  anything  ;" 
see  Hosea  xii.  1,  "  Ephraim  feedeth  on  the  wind,  and  hunteth 


B4l  CHAPTER  I.    12-18. 

after  the  East  wind  ;"  Isaiah  xliv.  20  ;  Proverbs  xiii.  20  ;  xv. 
1 4.  An  "empty  striving,  "  (LXX.  T^oal^sGig  rrvivf^arog,)  is  a  striv- 
ing without  result,  such  a  striving  as  brings  no  true  genuine 
good  to  realization. 

Ver.  1 5.  That  wJdch  is  crooked  cannot  he  brought  into  posi- 
tion :  ipn  does  not  signily  "  straight,"  but  "  to  be  in  position," 
to  "  come  into  position,"  in  Sjrriac,  "  to  be  arranged,  to  be 
ordered  ;"  LXX.  dis(rr^ai/./Msvov  oO  duvrjGirai  s'7rr/,o(rfj:,7}6r,]/ai.  From 
the  parallel  passage,  chap.  vii.  13,  it  is  evident  that  the  writer 
speaks  of  imperfections,  not  only  as  seen  in  human  ways, 
but  also  in  the  arrangement  of  the  world,  i.  e.  of  those 
things  in  the  order  of  the  world  which  wear  an  appearance  of 
imperfection  as  long  as  the  fall  of  man  is  foolishly  ignored. 
Hitzig  gives  the  meaning  therefore  correctly  as  follows, — 
"  Man  cannot  alter  that  which  is  unjust  in  the  divine  arrange- 
ment of  the  world  ;  he  cannot  bring  it  from  a  state  of  imper- 
fection to  one  of  perfection."  Knobel  thinks  that  the  writer 
here  "  betrays  his  fatalistic  view  of  the  world,  according  to 
which  everything  pursues  so  firm  and  unalterable  a  course  that 
no  modification  whatever  thereof  is  possible."  The  question 
here  however  is  not  one  of  opinion,  but  of  undeniable  facts. 
The  world  is  actually  a  vale  of  tears,  everywhere  are  wants, 
trouble,  fears  :  and  on  this  rock  break  all  the  attempts  made 
to  establish  what  men  deem  the  best  system  of  things.  For 
the  rest,  the  author  is  not  discoursing  of  the  "fixed  and  unalter- 
able course"  of  things  in  particular,  but  only  of  the  general 
character  of  human  afiairs  and  of  earthly  relations,  which  must 
necessarily,  are  by  God  intended  to,  reduce  to  despair  those 
who  seek  their  satisfaction  in  them  : — "  man  is  not  to  that 
end  here  that  he  may  possess  earth."  That  ivhich  is  wanting 
cannot  he  reckoned,  which  is  as  much  as  to  say  that,  where 
nothing  is  nothing  can  be  counted,  human  life  consists  entirely 
of  nulls.  In  opposition  to  usage,  several  translate,  "  that 
which  is  wanting  cannot  be  supplied."  nj?o  signifies  only  "  to 
reckon,  to  count."  Luther  has  several  excellent  remarks  on 
this  verse  of  which  we  must  make  mention.  "  Cicero  writing 
from  his  own  expeiience  says,  "  Alas  !  how  constantly  it  hap- 
pens that  as  sure  as  anything  has  been  devised  and  planned 
for  the  best,  and  with  the  greatest  industry,  it  turns  out  so 
badly  and  so  strangely!"      God  however  herein  does  well,  that 


CHAPTER  I.   12-18.  65- 

He  blows  away  and  brings  to  nought  whatever  man  meditates 
and  undertakes.  For  as  soon  as  any  plan  of  us  men  succeeds 
a  little,  from  that  hour  we  begin  to  take  the  honour  to  our- 
selves. Forthwith  ambition  begins  to  stir  within  us,  and  we 
think  to  ourselves,  this  have  I  done,  for  this  are  my  country 
and  fellow  men  indebted  to  me  ;  and  we  grasp  at  the  honour 
which  belongs  alone  and  entirely  to  God.  Wherefore,  if  God 
is  to  continue  Lord,  and  to  assert  and  maintain  His  fii'st  com- 
mandment, He  must  only  suffer  the  lesser  part  of  our  thoughts 
to  turn  out  well,  and  both  in  the  courts  and  councils  of 
kings  and  princes,  and  in  all  other  aflairs,  so  soon  as,  and 
whenever  anything  has  been  deliberated  and  determined,  show 
that  the  words  "if  God  wills  it"  still  retain  their  full  force. 
Heathen  and  ungodly  men,  who  alike  fancy  that  it  is  enough 
if  they  themselves  have  resolved,  must  in  this  wise  learn  that 
there  has  been  One  absent  from  their  counsels,  who  has  a 
clear  right  to  a  voice  therein,  and  His  name  is  God.  There- 
fore is  it  the  best  course  and  the  highest  wisdom,  to  leave  and 
commend  all  to  God,  not  to  plague  and  worry  ourselves  too 
much  with  our  own  thoughts,  but  to  follow  the  wise  man  who 
at  last,  after  great  experience  declared — "  Let  things  go  as  they 
go,  for  do  what  we  may  they  will  go  as  they  go."  And  how 
frequently  do  we  see  that  cunning  and  prudent  rulers,  and 
people  who  in  other  respects  are  exalted  and  wise,  do  the 
greatest  mischief,  whilst  setting  themselves  with  all  earnest- 
ness, with  great  restlessness,  labour  and  industry  to  make  all 
things  good.  For  on  earth,  under  the  sun,  there  never  can  be 
established  a  state  of  things  so  good  that  all  will  move  on 
evenly,  that  there  will  not  be  still  many  imperfections,  many 
faults.  Wherefore,  the  best  thing  of  all,  is  to  build  and  con- 
fide heartily  on  God,  to  commit  the  ordering  of  all  to  Him,  to 
let  Him  rule,  to  pray  as  the  Lord  taught  us — "  thy  kingdom 
come"^ — and  meanwhile  patiently  to  bear  and  suffer  all  manner 
of  wrong  from  the  ungodly  and  wicked,  leaving  our  case  in 
the  hands  of  the  great  Judge. — When,  then,  although  thou  art 
wise  and  holy,  and  pious,  and  remarkest  that  many  things  go 
wrong,  thou  hast  notwithstanding  no  power  to  make  aU 
straight  that  is  crooked,  do  the  work  with  which  thou  art 
entrusted,  apply  thyself  with  all  industry  to  thy  calling :  all 
else  that  refuses  to  be  rectified,  leave  to  Him  who  is  stronger 


66  CHAPTER  I.   12-18. 

and  wiser  than  thou,  to  the  good  God  in  Heaven  who  can  rule 
churches,  country,  people,  princes,  house,  estate,  wife  and 
children  better  than  thou." 

Ver.  1 6.  The  character  of  earthly  things  being  such  as  is 
described  in  verses  12  and  15,  that  wisdom  which  busies 
itself  with  the  understanding  of  their  nature,  cannot,  as  the 
author  now  shows,  have  the  significance  of  the  highest  good, 
it  cannot  -truly  satisfy  the  soul,  but  must  rather  increase  its 
pains.  Koheleth  says  here  that  in  respect  of  wisdom  he  sur- 
passed all  who  came  before  him  in  Jerusalem.  Gousset,  Kam- 
bach,  and  others  explain  these  words  to  be — "  all  the  great 
in  Jerusalem,"  of  whom  there  were  many  in  the  days  of  Solo- 
mon and  David.  But  it  is  clear  from  chap.  ii.  7,  that  kings 
only  are  referred  to.  Jerusalem  was  the  seat  of  a  very  ancient 
monarchy,  a  noble  representative  of  which  meets  us  even  in 
the  time  of  the  Patriarchs.  The  title  borne  by  these  kings, 
namely.  King  or  Lord  of  Righteousness,  Melchizedek,  Adoni- 
zedek,  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  they  were  animated  by 
higher  purposes  and  aims  than  many  around  them.  Hitzig  is 
of  opinion  that,  "  if  the  author  does  allude  to  the  old  heathen 
kings,  there  is  something  incongnious  in  it,  and  in  this  turn 
given  to  the  thought,  a  later  wiiter,  one  moreover  not  parti- 
cularly well  versed  in  history,  (!)  seems  to  betray  himself,  to 
whose  mind  was  present  the  series  of  kings  who  had  reigned 
since  Solomon."  But  if  we  attentively  examine  the  passages 
in  the  "  Books  of  the  Kings,"  on  which  the  author  takes  his 
stand,  this  comparison  with  heathen  kings  will  no  longer 
be  found  incongruous.  In  1  Kings  iii.  1 2,  the  Lord  says  to 
Solomon,  "  Lo !  I  give  thee  a  wise  and  an  understanding  heart, 
so  that  there  was  none  like  thee  before  thee,  neither  after  thee 
shall  any  arise  like  unto  thee."  Hei'e  the  prerogative  of  wis- 
dom is  ascribed  to  Solomon,  not  merely  amongst  the  kings  of 
Israel,  as  Clericus  and  others  conceived,  but  amongst  kings 
in  general.  Examples  occurring  in  heathen  countries  are 
also  included  in  the  comparison.  More  distinctly  still  is  the 
same  thing  seen  from  1  Kings  iv.  29,  "and  God  gave  Solo- 
mon wisdom  and  understanding,  exceeding  much,  and  largeness 
of  heart,  even  as  the  sand  that  is  on  the  sea-shore:"  ver.  30, 
"  and  Solomon's  v/isdom  excelled  all  the  wisdom  of  the  children 
of  the  East  country,  and  all   the  wisdom  of  Egypt:"  ver.  81, 


CHAPTER  I.   2-11.  67 

"  and  he  became  wiser  than  all  men :  and  his  fame  was  in  all  the 
nations  round  about :"  ver.  34,  "  and  there  came  of  all  people  to 
hear  the  wisdom  of  Solomon,  from  all  kings  of  the  earth  which 
had  heard  of  his  wisdom."  Then  again  in  chap.  x.  23-24,  "So 
king  Solomon  exceeded  all  the  kings  of  the  earth  for  riches 
and  wisdom ;  and  all  the  earth  sought  the  face  of  Solomon, 
to  hear  his  wisdom  which  God  had  put  in  his  heart."  That 
there  was  in  Solomon's  wisdom  an  element,  by  virtue  of 
which  it  might  justly  be  compared  with  analogous  phenomena 
of  the  heathen  world,  is  plain  even  from  the  visit  of  the 
Queen  of  Sheba,  as  well  as  from  the  sphere  within  which,  as 
we  learn  from  1  Kings  iv.  33,  it  moved.  His  thoughts  ran 
on  natural  things,  on  that  which  was  under  the  sun.  Kohe- 
leth's  comparison  of  himself  with  heathen  kings  in  regard 
to  wisdom  is  an  important  item  in  the  determination  of  the 
true  idea  of  this  wisdom  :  whence  also  we  shall  more  clearly 
understand  both  the  depreciatory  judgment  he  pronounces 
upon  it  and  the  presupposition  with  which  he  starts,  viz., 
that  the  people  of  God  were  at  that  time  destitute  of  the 
wisdom.  His  intention  was  thus  to  comfort  them  on  account 
of  their  loss,  and  to  teach  them  not  to  set  too  high  a  value  on 
the  possession.  A  wisdom  in  respect  of  which  it  may  be  said 
that  Solomon  only  had  more  than  heathen  kings  could  not 
be  the  wisdom  which  is  from  above,  which  had  established  its 
seat  in  the  midst  of  the  covenanted  people,  and  the  possession 
of  which  was  inseparable  from  their  existence  :  it  could  not 
be  the  wisdom  which  coincides  with  true  piety,  which  affords 
true  knowledge  of  God,  and  which  in  His  light  enables  us  to 
understand  man  and  earthly  things.  No  !  a  wisdom  which 
can  bear  such  a  comparison  must  be  earthly,  of  this  world. 
With  this  agrees  what  is  said  in  verse  13  respecting  the 
sphere  of  this  wisdom.  Its  efforts  are  only  directed  to  search 
out  and  fathom  what  takes  place  under  heaven  :  the  wisdom 
which  Cometh  from  above  strives,  above  all  things,  to  pene- 
trate into  the  depths  of  the  Godhead.  That  the  wisdom  of 
Solomon  does  not  coincide  with  that  which  is  described  in 
James  i.  5,  that  on  the  contrary  it  has  a  common  basis  with 
the  wisdom  of  the  heathens,  being  only  distinguished  there- 
from by  the  illumination  which  it  receives  from  the  light  of 
revelation  and  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  might  be  judged  even 


68  CHAPTER  I.  12-18. 

from  1  Kings  iii.  1 2.  When  it  is  in  that  place  said, — "  Lo ! 
I  give  thee  a  wise  and  understanding  heart,  so  that  there 
was  none  like  thee  before  thee,  neither  after  thee  shall  any 
arise  like  unto  thee," — there  is  certainly  no  intention  of  set- 
ting Solomon  above  Moses,  in  contradiction  to  Numbers  xii. 
and  Deuteronomy  xxxiv.,  nor  even  above  David  :  the  words 
rather  imply  that  his  wisdom  was  considered  as  essentially 
different  from  that  possessed  by  men  of  God  properly  so 
called,  and  not  to  be  brought  into  comparison  with  it  *  In 
this  wisdom,  so  brilliant  and  splendid  as  even  to  attract  the 
attention  of  Gentiles,  but  which,  according  to  what  follows, 
stood  on  a  like  level  with  the  possession  and  enjoyment  of 
this  world's  goods,  Solomon  held  the  first  place.  The  present, 
so  poor  in  every  respect,  had  no  alternative  but  to  look  up  to 
him.  But  that  that  true  wisdom  which  even  children  may 
possess,  yet  remained,  is  manifoldly  and  expressly  asserted 
afterwards  (compare  chap.  vii.  12,  13,  20,  21,  x.  14-18). 

Ver.  ]  7.  Having  attained  to  the  highest  pinnacle  of  wis- 
dom, and  having  by  its  aid  searched  into  earthly  things,  Solo- 
mon now  proceeds  to  investigate  the  instrument  itself  em- 
ployed in  his  researches,  and  arrives  here  at  a  humiliating 
result.  The  course  pursued  by  Solomon,  of  inquiring  into 
folly  along  with  wisdom  has  its  ground  in  the  fact  that  his 
aim  was  to  determine  the  worth  of  wisdom  in  relation  to 
folly.  Besides,  as  a  general  truth,  contraries  explain  each 
other,  as  Hieronymus  says  contrariis  contraria  inielliguntur  :\ 
for  which  reason  also  at  the  commencement  of  the  Book  of 
Proverbs,  wisdom  and  folly  are  constantly  contrasted  with 
each  other. 


*  Seb.  Schmidt  remarks  on  this  passage  :  Mosis  enim  Prophetarum  et 
Apostolorum  potior  sapientia  erat  potius  illuminatio  immediata  aut  revelatio, 
quam  sapientia  cordis.  Intelligitur  sapientia  acuti  ingenii,  omnia  cum  studio 
penetrantis  quiu  non  sunt  immediatae  revelationis,  sed  scrutaminis  et  judicii, 
eaque  infusa  fait  ratione  perfectionis,  non  initii.  A  natural  gift  constitutes 
the  basis,  an  inclination  towards  speculative  inquiries  which  examines  and 
seeks  to  penetrate  into  the  nature  of  things. 

t  Following  the  Septuagint,  Luther  translates:  "Wisdom  and  folly  and 
prudence"  But  that  Vi'b'Z'^  in  this  place  is  only  another  mode  of  writing 
rVl73D  "Folly,"  is  so  clearly  evident  from  the  parallel  passages  chap.  ii.  12, 
vii.  25,  X.  13,  that  one  cannot  conceive  how  it  has  been  possible  for  Stier  to 
keep  to  the  translation  "  prudence." 


CHAPTEE  I.  12-18.  69 

Yer.  1 8.  According  to  what  has  hitherto  been  advanced, 
the  reason  of  the  pain  and  discomfort  which  result  from  the 
possession  of  wisdom  must  be  found  in  the  fact  that  it  lays  bare 
the  vanity  of  earthly  things.  When  wisdom  is  looked  upon 
as  a  means  to  higher  ends,  this  is  an  advantage.  To  recog- 
nise the  true  character  of  earthly  things  can  be  wholesome 
only  when  we  are  thereby  driven  to  lay  hold  on  the  one  real 
Being,  on  God,  who  is  an  everlasting  refuge  in  the  midst  of 
the  vanities  of  earth.  It  shows,  however,  that  wisdom,  con- 
sidered in  itself,  in  isolation  from  other  and  higher  things,  is 
but  a  comfortless  sort  of  good.  Luther  saw  the  true  reason 
of  the  discomfort  and  pain.  His  words  are,  "  Great  people 
who  have  a  great  understanding,  and  see  further  than  others, 
who  have  had  much  experience,  cannot  help  frequently 
being  angry  with  themselves  and  thinking  in  gTeat  disgust, 
how  wicked  and  scandalous  is  the  course  of  things  in  this 
world  !  But  whence  does  it  arise  that  such  persons  are  so 
impatient,  and  become  so  angry  ?  The  answer  is :  where 
there  is  much  understanding  and  wisdom,  there  is  much  dis- 
content !  For  such  people  see  and  think  much,  and  conse- 
quently find  in  the  world  all  manner  of  crimes,  wickednesses, 
falseness,  unfairness,  which  others  never  see  nor  dream  of : 
and  that  gives  pain.  Others  who  do  not  see  so  far,  nor 
think  so  much,  do  not  take  it  to  heart :  therefore  also  it 
causes  them  little  trouble  or  pain.  Whosoever,  then,  desires 
to  be  a  good  Christian  and  to  lead  a  godly  life,  let  him  learn 
to  endure  patiently,  and  commit  the  ordering  of  things  to 
God,  let  him  learn  to  pray  heartily  the  petition  taught  us  by 
Christ,  'thy  will  be  done;'  otherwise  he  will  only  plague 
himself  in  vain,  make  his  own  life  hateful  to  himself,  and 
lose  besides  time  and  everything."]:     We  must  interpret — 

\  Many  commentators  have  missed  the  right  sense  through  giving  themselves 
up  to  mere  guesses.  So,  for  example,  Hieronymus  :  Quanto  magis  quis  sapien- 
tiam  fuerit  consequutus,  tanto  plus  indignatur  subjacere  vitiis  et  procul  esse  a 
virtutibus,  quas  requirit.  (According  to  verse  13,  Wisdom  applies  itself  to  the 
consideration  not  merely  of  that  which  is  within,  but  of  all  that  takes  place 
under  heaven).  Nisi  forte  et  hoc  intelligendum,  quod  sapiens  vir  doleat  tam  in 
abdito  et  profundo  latere  sapientiam,  nee  ita  se  prajbere  mentibus  ut  lumen 
visiii ;  sed  per  tormenta  quiedam  et  intolerabilem  laborem,  jugi  meditatione 
et  studio  provenire.  Hitzig  has  "much  discontent  or  chagrin;"  namely,  during 
the  search  for  truth  which  is  in  many  ways  wearisome  and  often  fruitless. 


70  CHAPTER  II. 

Whoso  increases  knowledge  increases  sorrow.  iidI''  is,  as  a 
participial  form,  without  example.  In  Isaiah  xxix.  14, 
xxxviii.  5,  also  it  is  Fut  Hiphil. 


CHAPTER  II. 

From  wisdom  Koheleth  turns  to  the  pursuit  of  mirth,  in 
order  to  see  whether  the  true  good  is  to  be  found  in  it,  but 
here  again  he  'finds  not  what  he  sought,  he  finds  nothing  to 
still  the  cravings  of  his  heart  (ver.  1  and  2).  After  this  pre- 
liminary survey  there  follows  the  fuller  exposition.  Taking 
the  coarsest  first,  Koheleth  tries  what  wine  drinking  will  do, 
(ver.  8).  Then  he  seeks  pleasure  in  great  works  and  improve- 
ments (verses  4-6),  in  rich  possessions,  brilliant  connections, 
and  in  the  manifold  enjoyments  of  love  (verses  7-8)  at  the 
same  time  not  renouncing  wisdom,  but  keeping  it  as  his  com- 
panion in  all  his  undertakings,  and  letting  it  be  their  very 
life  and  soul,  (ver.  9).  He  follows  after  mirth  with  aU  eager- 
ness, intending  thus  to  obtain  a  recompense  for  the  great 
trouble  caused  him  by  the  procuring  of  the  material  of  plea- 
sure (ver.  10).  On  a  closer  examination,  however,  this 
pleasure  also  evades  his  gTasp,  and  so  all  his  pains  and  efforts 
appear  to  him  vain,  (ver.  II).  The  one  thought  alone  that 
all  that  which  he  has  effected  by  his  wisdom  will  be  inherited, 
to  judge  from  the  usual  course  of  things  in  this  world,  by 
an  evil  successor,  mixes  gall  with  the  satisfaction  with  which 
he  regards  his  creations,  (ver.  1 2).  Reflecting  on  the  matter 
more  carefully  he  sees  that  wisdom  has  undoubtedly  a  con- 
siderable advantage  over  folly  (verses  13-14a) ;  but  still  this 
advantage  is  not  of  such  a  nature  that  a  man  can  sincerely 
rejoice  in  it  and  its  creations,  that  he  can  seek  the  happiness 
of  his  life  in  it  and  devote  himself  with  all  zeal  to  the  pro- 
duction of  such  works.  Wisdom  is  unable  to  protect  us 
against  many  misfortunes,  (verses  14  6-15).  The  same  forget- 
fulness  covers  the  wise  man  no  less  than  the  fool  in  the  future  ; 
and  how  sadly  does  death,  to  which  the  wise  man  is  subject 
no  less  than  the  fool,  destroy  all  joy  in  wisdom  and  its  crea- 
tions, (ver.  16-17).  And^  to  recur  to  that  which  was  antici- 
patorily  mentioned  in  ver.  1 2,  the  thought  of  a  wicked  sue- 


CHAPTER  IL  71 

cesser  stifles  completely  the  satisfaction  felt  in  the  works 
efiected  at  the  cost  of  so  much  labour  and  in  the  wisdom 
therein  manifested  (verses  18-21).  Mirth  being  spoiled  by 
such  considerations,  there  remain  behind  only  the  manifold 
pains  and  disquiet  occasioned  to  man  by  the  production  of 
that  wherein  he  was  to  rejoice  (verses  22-23).  Surely,  then 
it  is  better  for  man  to  renounce  such  a  chase  and  hunt,  to 
live  for  the  present  moment,  and  to  take  the  enjoyments 
which  offer  themselves  unsought.  And  yet  such  a  cheerful 
enjoyment  of  the  gifts  of  God  is  not  in  a  man's  own  power : 
it  comes  from  God,  who  must  Himself  make  our  hearts  capable 
of  enjoyment,  and  deliver  us  from  the  bonds  of  avarice  (verses 
24-26). 

The  moral  of  all  this  is — look  not  back  with  painful  long- 
ings to  Solomon  and  his  age,  though  so  brilliant  and  though 
apparently  so  rich  in  pleasures.  More  closely  considered  its 
wealth  of  mirth  was  vanity.  That  unseen  source  of  joy,  from 
which  Solomon  actually  drew  whatever  of  pleasure  he  realized, 
is  still  open  to  you  notwithstanding  the  needy  position  in 
which  you  find  yourselves.  Guard  then  against  shutting 
yourselves  out  from  it  by  a  base  and  contemptible  covetous- 
ness. 

Ver.  1.  /  said  in  mine  heart,  Go  to  now,  I  will  prove  thee 
with  mirth  and  look  iqjon  good,  and  behold,  this  also  is  vanity. 
Ver.  2.  To  laughter  I  said.  Thou  art  mad ;  and  to  rairth, 
What  doeth  it  ?  Ver.  3.  /  sought  in  mine  heart  to  nourish 
my  flesh  with  wine  ;  and  nny  heart  prosecuted  wisdom,  and  I 
purposed  to  lay  hold  on  folly,  till  I  might  see  what  is  good 
for  the  children  of  men,  what  they  should  do  under  heaven, 
the  number  of  the  days  of  their  life.  Ver.  4.  /  made  me 
great  tvorks  ;  I  builded  me  houses  ;  I  planted  me  vineyards. 
Ver.  5.  /  made  me  gardens  and  orchards,  and  I  planted  trees 
in  them  of  all  kind  of  fruits.  Ver.  6.  /  made  me  pools  of 
water,  to  tvater  therewith  the  wood  that  hnngeth  forth  trees. 
Ver,  7.  /  bought  servants  and  muidens,  and  sen^ants  ivere 
horn  to  me  in  my  house  :  also  I  obtained  cattle  and  sheep  in 
multitude,  more  than  all  that  were  in  Jerusalem  before  me. 
Ver.  8.  I  gathered  me  also  silver  and  gold,  and  a  treasure  of 
kings  and  the  provinces  :  I  gat  me  men-singers  and  women- 
singers,  and  the  delights  of  the  children  of  men,  plenty  of  all 


72  CHAPTER  II. 

soiis.  Ver.  9.  And  I  became  great,  and  increased  more  than 
all  that  tvere  before  me  in  Jerusalem,  and  my  wisdom  re- 
mained to  me.  Ver.  10.  And  whatsoever  mine  eyes  desired 
I  kept  not  from  them,  I  withheld  not  my  heart  from  any  joy; 
for  my  heart  rejoiced  in  all  my  labour;  and  this  was  my  por- 
tion of  all  my  labour.  Ver.  11.  And  I  looked  on  all  the 
works  that  my  hands  had  wrought,  and  on  the  labour  with 
which  I  had  laboured  to  produce  ;  and,  behold,  all  was  vanity 
and  empty  effort,  and  is  no  profit  under  the  sun.  Ver.  1 2. 
And  1  turned  myself  to  behold  ivisdom  and  madness  and 
folly.  For  what  (will)  the  man  (do)  that  shall  come  after  the 
king?  That  which  they  have  already  done.  Ver.  13.  And 
I  saw  that  wisdom  has  an  excellency  over  folly,  like  the  ex- 
cellency of  light  over  darkness.  Ver.  1 4.  The  wise  man  has 
his  eyes  in  his  head  ;  but  the  fool  walketh  in  darkness.  But 
nevertheless  I  kncnv  that  one  event  happeneth  to  them  all. 
Ver.  15.  Then  said  I  in  my  heart,  as  it  happeneth  to  the 
fool  so  also  can  it  happen  even  to  me,  and  luhy  then  have  I 
been  so  very  wise  ?  And  I  said  in  my  heart,  that  this  also  is 
vanity.  Ver.  1 6.  For  there  is  no  remembrance  of  the  wise 
more  than  of  the  fool  for  ever,  seeing  that  in  the  days  to  come 
all  is  forgotten;  and  how  dieth  the  wise  man  with  the  fool  ? 
Ver.  17.  And  I  hated  life,  for  evil  appeared  to  one  the  history 
which  takes  place  under  the  sun ;  for  all  is  vanity  and 
empty  effort.  Ver.  18.  And  I  hated  all  my  labour  which  I 
had  laboured  under  the  sun,  because  I  should  leave  it  to  the 
man  that  shall  be  after  me.  Ver.  19.  And  who  knoweth 
whether  he  shall  be  a  wise  man  or  a  fool  ?  Yet  shall  he  have 
rule  over  all  my  labour  wherein  I  have  laboured,  and  wherein 
I  have  been  wise  under  the  sun  :  this  also  is  vanity.  Ver.  20. 
And  I  turned  myself  to  cause  my  heart  to  despair  of  all  the 
labour  wherein  I  laboured  under  the  sun.  Ver.  21.  For 
there  is  a  man  whose  labour  is  in  wisdom  and  in  knowledge 
and  in  ability,  and  yet  to  a  man  that  hath  not  laboured 
therein,  must  he  give  it  for  his  portion  ;  this  also  is  vanity 
and  a  great  evil.  Ver.  22.  For  what  hath  man  of  all  his 
labour  and  of  the  striving  of  his  heart,  wherein  he  hath 
laboured  under  the  sun?  Ver.  23.  For  all  his  days  are 
sorroivs,  and  discontent  is  his  plague  ;  yea,  his  heart  taketh 
not  rest  in  the  night.      This  also  is  vanity.     Ver.  24.  Is  it 


CHAPTER  II.  73 

not  good  for  man  that  he  eat  and  drink  and  make  his  soul 
see  good  in  his  labour  ?  I  saw  that  this  also  cometh  from 
the  hand  of  God.  Ver.  25.  For  who  eateth  and  who  has- 
teneth  except  me  ?  Ver.  26.  For  to  the  man  that  is  good  before 
Him  giveth  He  wisdom  and  knoivledge  and  joy  ;  and  to  the 
sinner  He  giveth  travail  to  gather  and  heap  up,  that  he 
may  give  it  to  him  that  is  good  before  God:  this  also  is 
vanity  and  empty  effort. 

Ver.  1-2.  In  these  two  verses  the  new  experiment  and  its 
results  are  described  in  broad  outline  :  in  the  third  and  fol- 
lowing verses  these  summary  hints  are  carried  out  in  detail. 
Not  only  for  his  wisdom  was  Solomon  renowned,  but  also  for 
his  possessions  and  pleasures  ;  and  in  this  latter  respect  also 
was  his  age  an  object  of  devouring  yearnings  to  the  people  of 
God  in  their  day  of  tribulation  and  oppression.  Therefore 
does  the  author  introduce  Solomon  with  the  confession  on 
his  lips  that  behind  even  that  glory  vanity  lay  hid.  When 
the  writer  says,  "  I  spake,"  the  "  I "  is  emphatic  :  "  /  spake." 
Some  will  have  it  that  ^js  frequently  occurs  in  this  book  along 
with  the  first  person  of  the  verb  superfluously  even  where 
no  emphasis  whatever  is  intended,  as  for  example  in  chap.  i. 
16,  ii.  11,  14,  18,  iii.  17.  In  such  cases,  however,  '•jx  is  by  no 
means  pleonastically  used.  It  calls  attention  to  the  importance 
of  the  person  who  is  speaking,  who  is  declaring  his  experiences. 
An  address  to  the  soul  similar  to  the  one  here  may  be  found  in 
Psalm  xvi.  2.  The  heart  is  to  be  proved,  whether  perchance 
it  feels  itself  contented  and  fully  satisfied  by  this  new  object 
presented  to  it.  The  mirth  is  that  which  springs  from  posses- 
sions and  pleasures.  The  words  which  follow  immediately  upon, 
and  are  directly  connected  with,  these,  namely,  look  upon  good, 
(nsi  signifying  with  3  "  look  upon,  to  feed  oneself  upon,")  show 
that  verses  1  and  2  do  not  relate  merely  to  a  life  of  low  and 
coarse  .gratification,  but  that  they  have  a  moi'e  comprehen- 
sive application.  The  laughter  mentioned  in  ver.  2  is  that 
which  accompanies  common  sensual  gratification  :  'mirth  or 
joy  is  not  identical  with  laughter,  but  has  a  more  comprehen- 
sive signification,  as  is  clear  from  ver.  10.  Extravagant 
mirth,  the  intoxication  of  the  senses,  at  once  shows  itself  to 
be  vanity  (ver.  3).  But  even  the  joy  taken  in  earthly  pro- 
jects and  possessions  does  not  stand  the  test.     Ver.  1 1  forms 


74  CHAPTER  II. 

the  comraent  to  the  question,  "  Wliat  doeth  it  f  of  ver.  2. 
Geier  says  :  "  Why  dost  thou  thus  befool  men  and  lead  them 
basely  away  from  the  true  good  f  We  should  involve  Ko- 
lieleth  in  self-contradiction  were  we  to  ascribe  to  him  here 
the  thought,  that  all  joy  is  vain  and  despicable.  He  rather 
takes  special  pains  to  urge  men  to  take  pleasure  in  their  life, 
to  live  for  the  present  moment,  and  thankfully  to  enjoy  what- 
ever it  offers.  That  which  he  here  condemns  is  mirth  con- 
sidered as  the  highest  good,  as  the  end  of  life,  and  the  too 
great  eagerness  displayed  in  its  pursuit.  Luther  has  seized 
exactly  the  right  point  of  view :  "  that  this  is  true,  experience 
tells  us.  For  many  a  man  arranges  all  his  affairs  and  puts 
forth  much  trouble  and  labour,  that  he  may  ensure  to  him- 
self quiet  and  peace  in  his  old  age  :  and  yet  God  orders  it 
otherwise,  and  involves  him  in  things  which  give  him  his  first 
true  taste  of  disquietude.  Many  an  one  seeks  his  pleasure  in 
lust  and  debauchery,  and  from  that  hour  onwards  his  life  is 
embittered.  Therefore,  if  God  does  not  give  us  joy  and  plea- 
sure, but  we  seek  to  contrive  and  create  them  for  ourselves, 
nothing  comes  of  it ;  and  on  the  contrary,  as  Solomon  says, 
all  is  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit.  We  can  do  nothing 
better  then  than  willingly  to  accept  and  put  up  with  that 
which  God  does  to  us  and  for  us,  and  to  accustom  our  heart 
to  be  satisfied  and  contented  with  that  which  God  each  mo- 
ment sends  us,  be  it  good  or  evil,  sorrow  or  joy.  If  a  wife  is 
given  thee,  regard  it  as  a  gift  of  God,  thank  Him,  and  be 
cheerful  and  contented.  But  if  thou  settest  thyself  to  go 
beyond  this,  and  to  add  thereto  thy  human  devices,  thinking 
to  secure  only  gratifications  and  joys,  honeymoons,  and  merry- 
makings, thou  wilt  make  for  thyself  sadness  and  sorrow  of 
heart.  For  this  reason,  should  we  accustom  ourselves  to  rest- 
ing satisfied  with  what  God  does  and  gives,  with  what  He 
wills  and  intends,  and  not  with  what  we  will  and  intend. 
Solomon's  intention,  then,  is  not  to  induce  all  the  world  to 
turn  hermits  and  monks,  to  cast  away  all  joy,  mirth,  pastime, 
all  rest,  comfort,  amusement :  what  he  means  to  say  is,  that 
thoughts  and  proposals  are  nothing  when  we  think  by  their 
help  to  make  to  ourselves  rest  and  peace,  recreation  and  good 
courage.  The  truest  joy  and  merriment  is  that  which  we  do 
not  expressly  seek   (for  when  we  plan  beforehand  a    little 


CHAPTER  II. 

hindrance  may  frustrate  the  whole),  but  which  God  sends  us 
at  the  moment."  In  verses  1  and  2  we  have  undoubtedly 
the  germ  of  the  parable  in  Luke  xii.  lG-21.  This  may  be 
seen  from  the  similarity  of  the  address  to  the  soul  which 
there  occurs  ;  from  the  words  h/jig  ToXXa  ayadd  there  as  com- 
pared with  the  expression,  "  Look  upon  good,"  here ;  from 
the  word  Juf  ^a/s/ou  compared  with,  "  I  will  prove  thee  with 
mirth,"  a<p^ov  corresponding  to  9?)n^;  and  finally  from  the  words 
a  ds  riroi[j.a(rag  rivt  hrai  (ver.  20)  as  compared  with  the  12th 
verse  of  this  chapter — "  For  what  will  the  man  do  that  shall 
come  after  the  king  T  (compare  ver.  19.) 

Ver.  3.  First  of  all  mirth  in  its  coarsest  form,  intoxication 
of  the  senses.  "  I  sought  in  my  heart  to  indulge  my  flesh 
with  wine."  That  nin  has  the  meaning  "  to  prove,  to  assay, 
to  try,"  is  certified  by  Numbers  xiii.,  where  the  word  is  re- 
peatedly used  of  the  spies,  and  by  ver.  18,  where  its  force  is 
given  in  the  paraphrase — "  and  see  the  land,  what  it  is,  and 
the  people  that  dwelleth  therein,  whether  they  be  strong 
or  weak,  few  or  many."  This  sense  of  the  word  suits  all 
the  passages  in  which  it  occurs,  and  especially  Numbers 
XV.  39 — "that  ye  may  look  upon  it  and  remember  all  the 
commandments  of  the  Lord  and  do  them ;  and  ye  shall 
not  follow  your  eyes  and  your  heart  proving  ;"  that  is,  ye 
shall  institute  no  moral  experiments,  following  the  desires 
of  your  own  heart  and  the  lusts  of  your  eyes.  Such  experi- 
ments will  as  certainly  be  followed  by  sad  and  painful  re- 
sults as  it  is  a  necessity  that  God's  vengeance  should  visit 
those  who  turn  aside  from  the  way  of  his  commands.  The 
wise  Solomon  did  not  give  himself  to  intoxication  of  the 
senses  in  the  way  of  a  mere  voluptuary ;  for  this  latter  cannot 
help  doing  what  he  does,  and  is  a  slave  of  his  passions  and 
desires  :  but  in  the  manner  of  an  inquirer  who,  standing  on  an 
eminence  above  sensual  enjoyments  wishes  to  know  by  per- 
sonal trial,  what  can  be  obtained  from  them,  so  as  to  be  able, 
in  virtue  of  his  own  experience,  to  instruct  others  how  far  a 
true  good  is  or  is  not  to  be  found  therein.  In  regard  to  -|C2 
"Itj^o  "  to  indulge,  to  cherish  the  body,"  consult  Gesenius'  The- 
saurus. The  remaining  words  of  the  verse  carry  out  further 
the  hint  contained  in  the  phrase  "  I  assayed  ;"  to  the  efiect 
that  Solomon   did  not  surrender  himself  a  corps  perdu   to 


76  CHAPTER  II. 

coarse  setisual  gratifications,  in  opposition  to  what  is  said  of 
the  duty  of  kings  in  Proverbs  xxxi.  4-5,  "It  is  not  for  kings, 
O  Lemuel,  it  is  not  for  kings  to  drink  wine,  nor  for  princes 
strono-  drink,  lest  they  drink  and  forget  the  law,  and  pervert 
the  judgment  of  any  of  the  afflicted."  A^id  my  heart  held  to 
wisdom,  i.e.,  it  took  wisdom  along  with  it  into  its  sensual 
enjoyments,  retained  it  by  its  side,  differing  thus  from  mere 
voluptuaries,  who  first  bid  farewell  to  wisdom,  and  then  sur- 
render themselves  to  sensual  pleasures,  inj  in  conjunction 
with  2  occurs  only  in  the  signification  "  to  lead,  to  convey  any- 
thing ;"  see  Isaiah  xi.  6,  and  1  Chronicles  xiii.  7,  where  n^Ji?l 
jn:  corresponds  to  n^jy  in:  in  2  Samuel  vi.  3.  Ewald's  ex- 
planation, "  whilst  my  heart  was  satiated  with  wisdom,"  is 
contrary  to  usage,  as  well  as  to  verses  1 2  ff.  Nor  is  any- 
thing contrary  to  the  words,  "I  will  prove  thee"  of  ver  1,  or 
to  those  of  this  verse,  "  I  assayed,"  according  to  which  it  was 
a  simple  experiment  that  he  was  concerned  with,  intended 
to  be  said,  which  might  cast  a  doubt  on  Solomon :  for  Solo- 
mon is  introduced  to  notice  here,  not  in  his  character  of  an 
historical  personage,  with  which  the  writer  has  nothing  to  do  ; 
but  as  the  ideal  of  Israelitish  wisdom.  "  And  (this  took  place, 
or  I  did  thus,  in  order)  to  lay  hold  on  folly,"  which  is  the 
antithesis  to  wisdom.  He  tried  whether  the  true  happiness 
of  life  was  to  be  found  in  sensual  enjoyments,  in  order  that, 
supposing  the  contrary  to  be  the  case,  he  might,  from  his 
own  experience,  know  folly  to  be  folly,  and  learn  to  abhor  it 
from  the  bottom  of  his  heart.  "  Till  I  might  see  what  is 
good  for  the  childi'en  of  men,  what  they  shall  do  the  number 
of  the  days  of  their  life."  By  reason  of  the  shortness  of 
human  existence,  which  passes  very  soon  irrecoverably  away, 
it  is  a  thing  of  all  the  more  importance  to  come  early  to 
clear  ideas  in  regard  to  the  end  of  life  and  the  true  good. 
To  live  recklessly  is  the  greater  folly,  seeing  that  the  life  of 
man  does  but  last  some  seventy  years,  or  at  the  best  eighty 
years.  The  point  of  view  here  taken  is  the  right  one  also  for 
all  that  follows.  At  the  commencement  of  his  experiment, 
■which  begins  with  wine  and  ends  with  women,  the  writer 
says,  "  and  my  heart  held  to  wisdom,"  and  corresponding  to 
these  words  we  find  it  said  at  the  close,  "  my  wisdom  re- 
mained with  me  "  (ver.  9).     Everything  is  set  before  us  from 


CHAPTER  II.  77' 

the  point  of  view  of  an  experiment.  That  coarse  sensual 
enjoyment  afforded  no  satisfactory  result ;  that  on  the  con- 
trary it  manifested  itself  to  be  folly — about  this  not  a  word 
is  wasted.  There  was  the  less  need  to  say  anything  expressly, 
inasmuch  as  a  general  judgment  had  been  pronounced  in 
ver.  2,  which  left  no  doubt  as  to  the  result  of  such  a  trial. 

Verses  4-8.  /  made  me  great  works,  I  built  me  houses, 
2')lanted  me  vineyards,  &c.  In  1  John  ii.  16  it  is  said,  "  all 
that  is  in  the  world,  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  and  the  lust  of  the 
eyes,  and  the  pride  of  life,  is  not  of  the  Father  but  of  the 
world ;"  on  which  Bengel  remarks,  "  Concupiscentia  carnis 
dicit  ea,  quibus  pascuntur  sensus,  qui  appellantur  fruitivi, 
gustus  et  tactus.  Concupiscentia  oculorum  ea  quibus  tenen- 
tur  sensus  investigativi,  oculus  s.  visus,  auditus  et  olfactus. 
aXaZ^oviia  est  arrogans  pompa,  cum  quis  nimium  sibi  aut  verbis 
aut  factis  assumit — ut  homo  velit  quam  plurimus  esse  in 
victu,  cultu,  apparatu  supellectile,  ?edificiis,  prsediis,  famulitio, 
cUentibus  jumentis,  muneribus."  From  tlie  lust  of  the  flesh 
Solomon  now  passes  to  the  lust  of  the  eye  and  to  that  pride 
of  life  which  delights  in,  and  understands  how  to  procure  for 
itself,  outward  splendour.  All  the  modes  of  activity  here 
enumerated  are  unable  to  satisfy  the  heart,  and  therefore 
should  we  be  careful  not  to  pursue  them  further  than  is 
necessary  and  indispensable — a  thing  which  all  those  do  who 
seek  therein  a  happiness  they  can  never  confer.  If  we  are 
convinced  that  a  man  may  possess  all  these  things,  and  yet 
be  at  the  same  time  the  most  miserable  of  beings,  we  shall 
not  occupy  ourselves  with  them  further  than  our  rank  and 
position  in  life  demand.  That  the  temple  is  not  included 
amongst  the  "  houses  "  is  evident,  not  only  from  the  word  'h 
"  for  himself,"  "  I  built  houses  for  myself :"  but  also  from  the 
tone  of  the  entire  enumeration,  which  introduces  only  such 
things  as  had  Solomon  for  their  central  point.  In  ver.  7 
Solomon  is  represented  as  saying — "  also  I  obtained  cattle 
and  sheep  in  multitude,  more  than  all  who  were  in  Jerusalem 
before  me."  In  this  some  have  wrongly  supposed  that  they 
had  discovered  "  a  blunder  of  the  later  author,"  in  relation  to 
whom  there  had  been  of  course  many  kings  in  Jerusalem. 
Amongst  the  royal  predecessors  of  Solomon  in  Jerusalem  were 
reckoned  not  only  David  and  Saul  but  also  the  Jebusite  kings 


78  CHAPTER  n. 

up  to  Mfelchizedeck.  "  I  gathered  me  also  silver  and  gold 
and  a  treasure  of  kings  and  the  provinces."  rhiD  does  not 
signify  "  property  in  general,"  but  "  something  of  special  value 
and  highly  estimated,"  strictly,  "  that  which  men  lay  by,  lay 
on  one  side,  treasure:"  see  Christology,  iii.  p.  685.  The 
author  is  speaking  here  of  a  treasure  of  kings  and  provinces, 
in  reference  to  the  aforementioned  "  silver  and  gold."  The 
conjunction  therewith  is  the  more  appropriate,  inasmuch  as 
the  gold  and  silver  came  from  the  kings  and  the  provinces. 
D'^D^D  stands  without  article  in  order  to  draw  attention  to  the 
significance  of  "  a  treasure  of  kings ;"  "  the  provinces  "  on  the 
other  hand  are  the  definite  and  well-known  ones  of  Solomon's 
kingdom.  Corresponding  to  the  kings  and  provinces  here  we 
find  in  the  allegorical  descriptions  of  Proverbs  xxxi.  29,  "the 
daughters,"  i.e.,  the  dependent  nations,  "many  daughters  bring 
wealth."  "The  kings"  are  those  of  the  vanquished  heathen 
countries  :  compare  1  Kings  iv.  21,  "  And  Solomon  reigned 
over  all  kingdoms  from  the  river  unto  the  land  of  the 
Philistines,  and  unto  the  border  of  Egypt :  they  brought  pre- 
sents and  served  Solomon  all  the  days  of  his  life.  Ver.  24. 
He  had  dominion  over  the  whole  land  beyond  the  river  from 
Thipsah  and  Gaza,  over  all  kings  beyond  the  river."  There  is 
no  sufficient  reason  for  reckoning  amongst  the  kings  the 
officers  who,  according  to  chap.  iv.  7  ff:,  were  appointed  by 
Solomon  over  the  twelve  provinces  into  which  the  original 
Israelitish  territory  was  divided,  although  some  amongst 
them  were  the  sons-in-law  of  the  king.  And  quite  as  little 
ground  is  there  for  Hitzig's  supposition,  that  by  "  the  pro- 
vinces "  we  are  to  understand  those  twelve  original  districts. 
The  provinces  are  plainly  not  to  be  taken  separately  from  the 
kings :  the  word  gather,  moreover,  is  not  appropriate  as 
applied  to  the  original  territory  of  the  Israelites :  and  the 
twelve  tribes  did  not  bring  silver  and  gold,  but  Solomon  drew 
from  them  only  the  natural  productions  of  the  natural  dis- 
tricts. The  usual  explanation  of  the  words  is,  "  a  treasure 
such  as  kings  have,  and  such  as  provinces  supply."  But  there 
is  no  reason  for  resorting  to  this  more  remote  view ;  besides 
that  in  1  Chronicles  xxix  8,  the  word  in  the  Stat,  const,  which 
is  conjoined  with  n^JD  designates  that  in  which  the  treasure 
consists ;  "  a  treasure  of  silver   and   gold."     /  gat  me  men- 


CHAPTER  II. 

singers  and  luomen-siugers,  and  the  delights  of  the  children 
of  men,  plenty  of  all  sorts,  jijyn  "  caresses  "  is  used  only  of 
sexual  love,  mt^>  signifies  in  Arabic,  robur,  vehementia.  From 
the  same  root  is  derived  the  Hebrew  word  nc'  "  the  almighty." 
The  adjoined  plural  marks  the  augmented  force  of  the  abstract 
conception  :  "  multitude  and  great  multitude."  According  to 
1  Kings  xi.  3,  Solomon  had  seven  hundred  princesses  to  wife, 
and  three  hundred  concubines.  Those  who  commit  the  mis- 
take of  not  finding  in  the  word  iijyn  a  reference  to  Solomon's 
love  of  women — a  thing  which  it  was  quite  impossible  to  pass 
over  in  silence  in  an  enumeration  of  all  the  things  -svith  which 
he  surrounded  his  own  person,  and  which  related  peculiarly  to 
himself,  have  sought  in  a  great  variety  of  ways  to  import  into 
the  words  nntJ''i  mtr  a  reference  to  Solomon's  women.  J.  D. 
Michaelis,  in  justification  of  his  arbitrary  explanation,  says 
quite  openly,  "  in  this  choice  of  meanings  I  have  not  looked 
so  much  to  philological  grounds,  as  to  the  consideration  that 
it  appears  almost  incredible  that  Solomon  should  have  for- 
gotten women  in  the  enumeration  of  his  sensual  pleasures." 
If  we  understand  the  words  of  Solomon's  wives,  the  conjunc- 
tion of  the  singular  and  plural  will  appear  strange  "  wife  and 
wives."  That  the  wives  are  here  mentioned,  because  they 
swelled  by  their  number  the  splendour  of  Solomon's  court,  and 
set  him  for  whom  such  things  were  prepared  in  a  bi'illiant 
light,  is  plain  from  the  verse  immediately  following,  which 
lays  stress  on  the  greatness  of  the  king  who  gathered  around 
himself  all  these  resources. 

Ver.  9.  And  I  became  great,  and  greater  than  all  those  that 
were  before  me  in  Jerusalem,  and  my  wisdom  remained  to 
Tne:  Vulgate,  perseveravit  mecura.  *70J?  is  used  also  in  Chap, 
viii.  3,  in  the  same  meaning  of  "remain,  continue."  Inas- 
much as  wisdom,  that  noblest  of  all  possessions,  remained  to 
the  king  along  with  these  other  possessions,  we  should  with 
the  greater  confidence  expect  him  to  have  a  contented  and 
satisfied  heart.  The  words  which  occur  in  verse  3,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  description — "  and  my  heart  prosecuted  wis- 
dom"— correspond  to  those  which  we  find  here,  "and  («ix  the 
emphatic  "and"  indicates  that  an  important  addition  is  being 
made)  wisdom  remained  to  me."  Ewald's  explanation  is, 
"  served  me;"  Elster's  is,  "  stood  to  me,"  which  is  as  much  as  to 


so  CHAPTER  II. 

say  "it  supported,  aided  me,"  in  gaining  riches  and  renown. 
But  TDy  with  ^  cannot  have  that  meaning. 

Ver.  10.  It  cost  Solomon  labour,  yea  great  labour  (ver.  23) 
to  raise  himself  to  a  position  where  he  should  be  the  central 
point  of  all.  For  this  trouble,  however,  he  felt  himself  at  first 
repaid  by  the  joy  which  he  experienced  at  the  thought  that 
all  had  been  effected  by  his  own  wisdom,  belonged  to  him  and 
contributed  to  his  glory.  But  even  of  this  satisfaction  he  was 
speedily  deprived.  It  only  lasted  so  long  as  he  did  not  go  to 
the  very  bottom  of  the  thing.  When  the  joy  vanished  there 
remained  only  the  labour  behind,  and  this  was  felt  to  be 
simple  torture  so  soon  as  it  distinctly  showed  itself  to  be 
fruitless. — According  to  verse  11  Solomon  looked  upon  all  his 
works  and  on  all  the  labour  he  had  spent  on  them,  and  "  be- 
hold all  was  vanity."  The  expression,  "  and  behold,"  points 
to  the  unexpectedness  and  startling  nature  of  the  fact.  The 
gi'ounds  of  the  general  judgment  here  pronounced  are  after- 
wards detailed.  Those  who  mistake  this  have  recourse  to 
conjectures.  Thus  Hitzig  is  of  opinion  that  "  the  work  had 
afforded  him  some  gratification:  but  at  last  he  had  accom- 
phshed  all  and  was  unable  to  devise  any  further  projects.  So 
then  the  work  came  to  an  end,  and  with  it  naturally  the  en- 
joyment which  it  had  afforded."  Similarly  Elster,  who  says: 
"  the  vanity  of  wearying  ourselves  in  the  pursuit  of  pleasure 
consists  in  this,  that  when  the  enjoyment  is  spent  there  is 
only  the  feeling  of  emptiness  left  behind."  But  these  are  the 
thoughts  of  the  commentators  themselves,  of  which  there  is  no 
trace  in  the  text.  Besides,  the  matter  in  hand  would  not  be 
served  by  any  experience  that  might  be  ascribed  to  a  hypo- 
chondriacal source :  plain  and  palpable  reasons  are  required, 
and  such  are  advanced  in  the  succeeding  part  of  the  book, 
from  which  the  present  verse  may  not  be  separated.  "  And 
there  is  no  profit  under  the  sun."  If  Solomon,  with  all  his 
wisdom  and  with  all  the  means  at  his  disposal  secured  no 
profit,  gained  no  real  good,  there  surely  must  be  none  to  be 
acquired,  (Stier  renders  "profit,"  by  "nothing  abiding;"  but 
the  correctness  of  the  common  interpretation  is  guaranteed  by 
verse  1 3  :  the  Hebrew  word  only  occurs  in  this  book,  and  it 
always  signifies  "profit,  advantage.")  The  existence  of  true 
good  is  by  no  means  denied.      The  author  treats  here  only  of 


CHAPTER  II.  gl 

such  possessions  as  have  their  origin  under  the  sun,  and  which 
man  can  acquire  by  his  own  efforts.  The  positive  assertion 
correspondent  to  the  negative  one  of  the  text  is  found  in 
James  l.  17— a-a<ra  a^V/j,  dya,);i  y.ui  t&v  d<^pn>j,a  TBAsm  cimdh 
sSTi  xaTalSamv  uto  ro\J  'ffarpbg  ruv  (p'JJrojv 

In  verse  12  the  catchword  WJQ  "I  turned  myself,"  used 
m  ver.  1 1  is  again  adopted,  and  for  the  purpose  of  indicating 
that  wliat  was  there  only  hinted  at  will  here  be  fully  un- 
folded. Koheleth  turns  himself  to  behold  wisdom  and  mad- 
ness and  folly,  i.  e.  to  consider  them  in  their  relation  to  each 
other,  and  to  estimate  their  relative  worth.  Wisdom,  which 
Solomon  did  not  lay  aside  when  he  gave  his  life  a  new  direc- 
tion, but  kept  as  his  companion  therein  (ver.  9)  applying  it 
now  to  practical,  as  at  an  earlier  period  he  had  apphed  it  to 
speculative  matters,  is  here  brought  forward  as  the  very  soul 
of  his  undertakings.  Consequently,  if  the  inquiry  into  the 
relation  between  wisdom  and  folly  show  the  result  that  wis- 
dom is  nothing,  the  works  of  which  wisdom  is  the  soul  must 
also  be  nothing.  At  this  place  Hitzig  makes  the  erroneous 
remark,  that  "after having  discovered  (ver.  11)  that  his  works 
are  nought,  he  finds  out  here  that  the  wisdom  which  he  has 
expended  on  them  is  also  nought."      Wisdom  and  the  works 

rather  constitute  one  whole,  interpenetrating  each   other : 

wisdom  is  in  the  works  as  their  animating  principle.  Kohe- 
leth next  sets  before  us  that  which  gave  rise  to  his  reflections 
on  the  relation  between  wisdom  and  folly,  and  which  caused 
his  perplexity  as  to  the  value  of  the  former  and  of  the  works 
effected  by  its  means.  This  was  the  simple  fact  that  his  suc- 
cessor would  probably  be  a  man  of  worthless  character,  who 
would  disgracefully  destroy  what  he  had  accomplished  by  his 
wisdom  and  by  his  great  labours.  Rehoboam!  that  is  the 
thought  which  first  presses  itself  on  his  mind.  Then  at  verse 
1  3  begins  that  comprehensive  discussion  which  in  verses  1 8 
and  1 9  comes  back  again  to  the  circumstance  here  anticipa- 
torily  mentioned.  The  presumptive  folly  of  his  successor  ap- 
pears here  to  constitute  the  motive  to  the  investigation :  in 
verses  18  and  19,  which  form  a  sort  of  commentary  to  the 
somewhat  enigmatical  words  before  us,  this  folly  seems  to  be 

an  important  feature  in  the  inquiry  itself      By  the  words 

"  For  what  is  the  man  ?"  we  may  understand  either — "  what 
F 


82  CHAPTER  II. 

is  he?  what  is  it  with  him?  or,  what  will  he  do?"  supple- 
menting the  meaning  from  what  follows :  "  Wlio  will  come 
after  the  King,"  i.  e.  after  me,  the  King,  or  who  will 
succeed  me  in  my  kingdom  ?  The  miserable  answer  to  the 
question,  "what  will  my  successor  do?"  is — He  will  do  "what 
they  have  already  done."  From  the  fact  that  folly  is  the 
custom  of  the  world,  arises  the  probability  that  his  successor 
also  will  be  foolish,  so  that  Solomon  with  all  his  wisdom  will 
appear  to  have  laboured  in  vain,  and  to  have  spent  his  strength 
for  nothing  and  vanity  (Isaiah  xlix.  4.)  Ewald's  explanation, 
namely,  "  what,  i.  e.,  of  what  kind  is  the  man,  who  will  suc- 
ceed the  king,  with  him,  i.  e.,  as  compared  with  him  whom 
one  has  made  before?"  is  characterised  by  gTcat  harshness. 
The  simple  word  with  can  never  stand  for  compared  tvith  : 
besides,  Solomon  was  not  made  king  by  men.  The  inquiry 
into  the  relation  between  wisdom  and  folly,  together  with  the 
results  of  each,  to  which  Koheleth  is  moved  by  the  thought  of 
his  evil  successor  which  presses  itself  upon  him,  leads  in  the 
first  instance  to  the  conclusion  that  wisdom  has  an  unquestion- 
able advantage  over  folly,  (verses  13,14  a.)  Wisdom  is  like 
light,  which  preserves  the  man  that  walks  in  it  from  many 
dangers  to  which  the  darkness  exposes  him  :  or  again,  the 
wise  man  is  like  one  who  sees,  and  who  can  therefore  avail 
himself  of  many  advantages  and  avoid  many  inconveniences.* 
But  still  the  advantage  is  not  an  unmixed,  an  absolute  one  : — 
"but  nevertheless  I  know  that  one  event  happeneth  to  them 
all,"  (1 4  b.,)  the  wise  man  no  less  than  the  fool  may  break  a 
leg,  and  is  not  less  than  others  exposed  to  all  possible  acci- 
dents. If  this  be  so,  the  question  naturally  arises — "  why 
have  I  been  then  so  very  wise  ?"  If  wisdom  with  its  produc- 
tions has  only  a  relative  value,  if  it  has  no  power  to  guard  its 
possessor  against  even  the  very  worst  that  can  happen,  it  fol- 
lows surely  that  a  man  should  not  occupy  himself  too  deeply 
with  it,  that  he  should  not  make  it  and  its  creations  the  real 
aim  of  his  life  ;  it  follows  also,  lastly,  that  an  age  in  which 
wisdom  flourishes  less  strongly,  need  not  on  that  account  grieve 

*  Seb.  Schmidt, — instituitur  comparatio  sapientis  cum  homine,  cui  oculi  non 
ex  capite  eruti  sunt,  sed  sani  et  salvi  adsunt,  qui  proinde  latlssime  potest  cir- 
cumspicere,  periculosa  fugere,  ad  proficua  accedere,  et  in  omnibus  provide  ac 
circumspccte  agere. 


CHAPTER  II.  83 

over  much.  And  I  said  in  my  heart  that  this  also  is  vanity 
— this,  the  study  of  human  wisdom,  in  respect  of  which  the 
age  of  Solomon  far  surpassed  later  ages.  The  meaning  found 
by  Elster  in  these  words,  viz.,  "  this  arrangement  of  life  itself, 
according  to  which  the  wise  man  experiences  the  same  fortune 
as  the  fool,  is  characterised  as  vanity,"  does  not  suit  the  con- 
nection. Koheleth  has  no  wish  to  blame  the  divine  govern- 
ment of  the  world,  his  aim  is  to  exhibit  the  vanity  of  human 
efforts  and  human  possessions.  The  word  "  for,"  which  follows, 
shows  that  it  is  wisdom  which  he  considers  to  be  vanity.  If 
then  even  this  noblest  of  earthly  possessions  is  vain,  how 
urgently  should  we  feel  ourselves  summoned  to  unite  ourselves 
the  more  closely  and  inwardly  to  God :  compare  Proverbs  iii. 
5, — "  Trust  in  the  Lord  with  all  thine  heart,  and  lean  not 
unto  thine  own- understanding."  Luther  remarks — "  therefore 
is  it  better  to  commit  the  supreme  government  of  all  things 
to  the  King  who  has  made  us.  Let  every  man  discharge  with 
all  diligence  the  duties  of  his  office,  let  him  accomplish  what- 
ever God  gives  him  at  the  present  moment  to  do :  if  all  does 
not  go  on  as  he  expected  let  him  leave  it  to  God.  What  God 
gives  let  him  accept :  if  God  hinders  thee  in  any  wise,  take 
that  also  for  a  good.  Whatever  we  can  do  we  are  called  upon 
to  do  :  what  we  cannot  effect  we  must  let  alone  :  the  stone 
which  thou  canst  not  lift  thou  must  needs  let  lie."  The  affir- 
mation that  "this  also  is  vanity,"  in  proof  of  which  it  is 
alleged  in  ver.  15,  to  be  the  fact,  that  wisdom  affords  no  pro- 
tection against  the  manifold  misfortunes  of  life,  receives  a  new 
and  doubly  strong  confirmation  in  ver.  1 6,  from  the  forge  tftd- 
ness,  which  in  the  future  covers  alike  the  wise  man  with  his 
works,  and  the  fool,  and  from  the  necessity  by  which  both 
alike  are  bound  to  submit  to  death.  If  wisdom  is  incompe- 
tent to  protect  us  against  any  of  these  troubles  it  surely  should 
not  be  the  object  of  such  ardent  longings.  We  ought  rather 
to  leave  it  and  the  pursuit  thereof  to  Solomon  and  his  age,  and 
seek  elsewhere  the  true  happiness  of  life  :  "  Seeing  that  in  the 
days  to  come  all  is  forgotten," — Vulgate:  futuixt  tempora  obli- 
vione  cuncta  paritcr  operient, — "  and  how  dieth  the  wise  man 
with  the  fool  ?"  That  is  the  most  unworthy  and  humiliating 
thing  that  can  happen  to  the  wise  man,  to  be  subjected  no  less 
than  the  mere  fool  to  the  disgraceful  necessity  of  death.     The 


84  CHAPTER  II. 

hatred  of  life  itself,  which,  as  we  learn  from  ver.  17,  arises 
within  us  when  we  consider  things  as  they  actually  are  and 
do  not  permit  ourselves  to  be  deceived  by  outward  show  and 
seeming,  is  by  no  means  in  itself  true  repentance.  A  clear 
proof  thereof,  is  that  such  feelings  are  to  be  found  frequently 
in  the  heart  of  the  ungodly.  They  are  notwithstanding  for 
the  well  disposed  a  powerful  motive  to  return  to  God.  This 
is  however  not  the  precise  point  of  view  from  which  matters 
are  examined  here.  The  aim  of  all  that  is  advanced  is  rather 
to  deliver  the  men  of  that  generation  from  their  devouring 
yearnings  after  the  glory  of  the  age  of  Solomon  by  laying  bare 
its  true  character  before  their  eyes. 

Ver.  18-21.  In  these  verses  attention  is  once  more  turned 
to  the  evil  successor  who  was  expected  to  occupy  the  throne. 
Tlie  "toil"  alluded  to  in  ver.  18  had  its  roots,  in  that  which 
such  an  event  would  bring  to  pass.  "For"  (ver.  22,)  on  the 
grounds  advanced  in  ver.  2]  and  previously,  inasmuch  as  I 
must  leave  the  fruits  of  my  labour  to  an  unworthy  successor, 
since  furthermore  accidents  befal  alike  the  wise  man  and  the 
fool,  since  the  wise  man  is  no  less  mortal  than  the  fool,  and 
the  remembrance  of  both  alike  passes  away,  the  question 
presses  itself  on  the  mind — "  what  has  man  ?"  This  is  as 
much  as  to  say,  "  man  has  nothing."  On  this  view  the  word 
12,  at  the  commencement  of  ver.  23,  appears  quite  appropriate. 
"Vexation  is  his  torment,"  (ver.  23,)  i.  e.,  he  is  tormented 
thereby.  From  which  the  practical  conclusion  is  that  we 
ought  not  to  busy  ourselves  with  such  distracting  and  perplex- 
ing matters,  and  that  it  should  be  a  cause  of  gladness  when 
our  circumstances  furnish  no  occasion  and  incentive  to  such 
a  course.  In  fact  it  promises  too  little  fruit,  nothing  is 
obtained  thereby  to  compensate  the  expenditure  in  labour, 
anxiety  and  pain. 

Ver.  24.  Seeing  that  such  is  the  case  with  the  works  men 
undertake,  our  wisdom  surely  is  to  embark  only  in  such  enter- 
prises as  are  clearly  necessary,  and  in  this  way  to  employ  the 
present  moment  and  live  for  the  present  moment — a  thing 
which  this  needy  present  generation  is  as  able  to  do  as  Solo- 
mon with  all  his  glory,  (ver.  24.)  Against  taking  this  ver.  as 
a  question — "  Is  it  not  good  for  man  ?" — it  has  been  objected 
that  in  such  a  case,  i(h  would  be  used  instead  of  px.      But  the 


CHAPTER  II.  85 

cognate  word  j-'X  is  used  interrogatively  in  1  Samuel  xxi.  9. 
To  simple  eating  and  drinking,  the  contrast  is  given  in  the 
wearisome  labours  some  men  undergo  for  the  special  advan- 
tage of  their  own  person,  and  in  order  to  secure  to  it  the 
highest  enjoyments  life  can  offer.  Labours  for  the  advance- 
ment of  the  kingdom  of  God  belong  to  an  entirely  different 
region,  and  form  no  pai-t  whatever  of  the  contrast  which  is 
here  mentioned.  The  words — "let  his  soul  see  good"  recom- 
mend joy  in  conjunction  with,  as  distinguished  from  joy  at 
our  labours.  Verses  2  and  3  stand  in  the  way  of  an  epicu- 
rean misintei-pretation  of  what  is  here  said  in  regard  to  eating 
and  drinking.  No  one  who  has  been  at  all  penetrated  by  the 
deep  earnestness  of  the  book  can  for  a  moment  entertain  the 
thought  of  such  a  profane  interpretation.  The  last  words  of 
the  ver.,  namely — "  I  saw  that  this  also  comes  from  the  hand 
of  God" — draw  attention  to  the  consideration  that  even  such 
eating  and  drinking,  such  cheerful  enjoyment  of  the  gifts  of 
God,  are  not  in  the  power  of  raen  by  themselves,  but  must 
come  from  above,  like  every  other  good  gift — that  is  in  fact 
also  a  gift  of  God.  How  far  this  is  so  ver.  26  teaches  us. 
The  foe  of  such  joy,  avarice,  which  was  one  of  the  principal 
diseases  of  that  age, — this  foe  can  only  be  overcome  by  God. 
God  alone  can  free  the  soul  from  his  bonds,  ver.  25.  From 
his  own  experience  Koheleth  can  say  that  he  has  richly  enjoyed 
this  gift  of  God.  Between  the  enjoyment  mentioned  in  ver. 
10,  and  that  referred  to  here,  there  is  this  difference,  that  the 
latter  may  be  the  portion  of  the  man  who  has  but  small  means. 
That  {^in  is  used  here  in  its  usual,  and  alone  clearly  ascertained 
signification,  "to  hasten,"  is  evident  from  Habakkuk  i.  8, 
where  it  occurs  in  conjunction  with  "  eating,"  and  with  the 
same  meaning  as  here.  In  Psalm  cxix.  60,  "delay"  forms  the 
contrast  to  "  haste."  The  next  following  words  are  a  commen- 
tary on  this  verse.  The  avaricious  man  does  not  hasten  to  eat, 
for  his  eye  is  looking  into  the  uncertain  future,  but  he  delays 
therein  and  stores  up  his  pleasures  against  another  day.  p 
Y\r\  are  nowhere  else  used  in  the  Old  Testament  in  the  sense 
in  which  they  are  employed  here  ;  frequently  however  in  the 
Talmud  and  in  the  writings  of  the  Rabbis.  Hitzig  translates 
■ — "and  who  can  delight  himself  except  from  him?" — and 
remarks,  "  Following  the  Septuagint,  the  Syriac,  Jerome  and 


86  CHAPTER  II. 

Ewald  we  read  IJOO.  In  this  form  (^jno)  the  words  are  plainly 
more  suitable  as  a  basis  for  the  first  part  of  ver.  24  :  whilst 
the  reading  i:oa  corresponds  admirably  to  the  second  half  of 
the  same  verse."  But  according  to  the  authenticated  reading 
the  words  suit  the  whole  verse  :  "  for  who  has  by  God's  gift." 
Independently,  however,  of  the  unwarranted  alteration  of  the 
reading,  it  is  against  that  explanation  that  K'ln  can  only  mean 
"  to  hasten,"  and  not  "  to  delight  oneself,"  or  as  others  would 
have  it  "to  drink;"  and  further  that  such  an  expression  as 
"  eat  from  God,"  can  scarcely  be  employed.  The  reason  of  the 
double  future  which  is  here  used,  is  that  the  matter  is  still 
going  forward. 

Ver.  26.  In  this  verse  Koheleth  refers  back  his  own  indi- 
vidual experience  to  a  general  ground.  For  to  the  man  who 
is  good  before  Him  giveth  He  wisdom  and  knowledge,  that 
his  heart  may  not  cling  to  the  dead  mammon,  and,  precisely 
in  this  way  he  receives  also,  joy,  in  that  he  enjoys  what  God 
has  assigned  him.  To  the  sifmer,  on  the  contrary,  God  in  his 
righteous  judgment  giveth  travail  to  gather  and  heap  up  ! 
That  also  is  vanity  and  empty  effort,  even  this  gathering 
together;  andthecircumstancesof  the  time  rendered  it  peculiarly 
necessary  to  lay  stress  on  the  folly  of  such  a,  course  :  the  less 
God  bestowed,  the  more  avaricious  was  it  deemed  necessar  y  to 
become.  Hitzig  thinks  it  is  "the  struggle  to  find  happiness 
in  sensual  enjoyment  enjoined  in  ver.  24."  But  that  is  too 
farfetched,  is  moreover  wrong  and  in  contradiction  with  the 
fundamental  idea  of  the  book.  A  discreet  and  solid  enjoyment 
of  that  which  God  confers  is  everywhere  earnestly  recom- 
mended. Here  we  very  plainly  see  that  the  refrain,  "this  also 
is  vanity,  &c.,"  by  no  means  involves  a  complaint  against  God, 
but  is  a  cry  of  warning  to  men  who  in  the  perversity  of  their 
hearts  seek  happiness  where  God  has  not  willed  that  it  be 
sought. 


CHAPTER  III. 

In  regard  to  the  position  and  circumstances  of  the  children 
of  Israel  to  which  this  book  owes  its  origin  and  character,  the 
following  data  may  be  derived  from  the  chapter  now  coming 


CHAPTER  IIL  87 

under  notice.  Israel  was  ecclesia  pressa  :  it  was  in  a  state 
of  persecution,  (ver.  15.)  It  was  being  purified  in  the  furnace 
of  afiiiction  (ver.  1 8.)  Wickedness  triumphed  over  righteous- 
ness :  on  Israel  lay  the  yoke  of  heathen  dominion,  (ver.  1 G, 
1 7.)  It  was  for  the  chosen  people  a  period  of  death,  of  the 
rooting  up  of  what  was  planted,  of  complaint,  of  silence  and 
so  forth,  (ver.  1-8.)  In  such  circumstances  they  harassed 
themselves  fruitlessly  by  their  own  toilsome  and  anxious 
undertakings,  (ver.  9-18.)  In  view  of  such  a  situation  the 
author  proceeds  further  in  his  design  of  conferring  weapons  of 
defence  against  the  attacks  of  despair.  In  chapters  i.  and  ii. 
he  developed  the  thought,  that  on  earth,  the  scene  of  vanity, 
men  may  not  seek  true  happiness,  that  times  which  seem  most 
fortunate  and  happy  are  not  so  difierent  from  wretched  ones 
as  a  superficial  examination  might  lead  us  to  think,  and  finally, 
that  all  earthly  happiness  is  but  glittering  misery.  In  the 
present  chapter,  Koheleth  seeks  to  comfort  his  suffering  fel- 
low countrymen  by  directing  their  thoughts  to  the  all-ruling 
providence  of  God.  The  theme  of  his  discourse  is  the  words 
of  Jeremiah  x.  23, — "  I  know,  0  Lord,  that  the  way  of  man 
is  not  in  himself:  it  is  not  in  man  that  walketh  to  direct  his 
steps.  He  labours  to  impress  upon  them  the  truth,  that  all 
prosperity  and  misfortune  comes  from  God  alone,"  and  admon- 
ishes them  to  humble  themselves  beneath  his  mighty  hand, 
that  in  his  own  good  time  he  may  exalt  them.  Everything 
has  its  season,  and  there  is  a  time  ordained  by  God,  when  every 
desire  of  the  faithful  shall  be  satisfied.  Here  then  our  duty 
is  not  to  be  careful  and  murmuring,  and  to  harass  ourselves, 
but  to  surrender  and  submit  ourselves  to,  and  patiently  wait 
on  God,  (ver.  1-8.)  "Nothing  comes  of  being  early  and  late 
at  all  my  works:  my  care  is  in  vain,"  (ver.  9,  10.)  What 
God  intends  to  do  man  cannot  know,  and  consequently 
cannot  conveniently  order  his  doings  :  man  is  not  set  to  work, 
but  simply  to  wait,  and  meanwhile  to  take  whatever  good 
falls  to  his  lot  unsought,  (ver.  11.)  Instead  therefore  of  being 
anxious  and  overworking  ourselves,  we  should  rather  live  for 
the  present  moment,  cheerfully  enjoy  the  pleasures  it  puts  in 
our  way,  and  at  the  same  time  do  good,  so  that  we  may  not 
hinder  the  grace  of  God,  (ver.  1 2.)  In  conjunction  with  this, 
it  is  to  be  remarked,  that  the  capacity  of  cheerful  enjoyment 


88  CHAPTER  III. 

in  life  is  a' gift  of  God,  who  alone  is  able  to  deliver  the  heart 
from  cares,  (ver.  13.)  Our  disquietudes  and  griefs,  and  self- 
inflicted  pains  cannot  alter  the  eternal  counsels  of  God,  (ver. 
14.)  Everything  comes  just  as  God  foreordained  it,  and  that 
is  a  consoling  reflection  for  the  persecuted,  inasmuch  as  in  his 
own  good  time  the  Lord  must  again  undertake  their  cause, 
(ver.  15.)  When  wickedness  has  risen  to  power  and  rule  on 
the  earth,  we  may  cherish  the  hope  that  there  will  be  a  reve- 
lation of  God's  judgments,  (ver.  16-17.)'  But  when  God 
delays  his  judgments,  it  is  in  order  that  men  may  be  purified 
and  humbled,  seeing  that  in  such  times  of  suffering,  experience 
forces  on  them  the  conviction  that  they  are  as  helpless  as  the 
beasts  of  the  field,  (ver.  18.)  Man,  w^ho  so  readily  puffs  him- 
self up  is  in  one  respect  on  a  level  with  the  cattle,  in  that,  no 
less  than  they,  he  is  exposed  to  all  kinds  of  accidents,  and 
must  die  and  return  to  the  dust,  (ver.  19-20.)  The  difference 
between  them,  namely,  that  the  spirit  of  man  goes  upwards  to 
God,  whilst  the  breath  of  the  beast  perishes  with  the  body  is 
one  of  a  very  subtle  nature,  and  hard  to  be  discerned  in  pre- 
sence of  that  outward  resemblance  in  their  fates  which  first 
presses  itself  on  the  attention,  (ver.  21.)  To  give  once  more 
the  summary  of  the  whole  argument — seeing  the  utter  uncer- 
tainty of  the  future,  man  should  not  trouble  himself  about  it, 
— "why  should  I  then  harass  myself  and  think  about  that 
which  is  to  come?" — but  enjoy  the  present,  (ver.  22.) 

Ver.  1.  To  everything  there  is  a  season,  and  a  time  to 
every  desire  under  the  heaven  :  Ver.  2.  A  time  to  bear  and  a 
time  to  die ;  a  time  to  plant  and  a  time  to  pluck  up  that 
which  is  planted  :  Ver.  8.  A  time  to  kill  and  a  time  to  heal; 
a  thne  to  break  down  and  a  time  to  build  up.  Ver.  4.  A 
time  to  weep  and  a  tivie  to  laugh  ;  a  time  to  mourn  and  a 
time  to  dance.  Ver.  5.  A  time  to  cast  aivay  stones  and  a 
tirne  to  gather  stones  together  :  a  tmie  to  embrace  and  a  time 
to  refrain  from  embracing.  Ver.  6.  A  time  to  seek  and  a 
time  to  lose  ;  a  time  to  keep  and  a  time  to  cast  away.  Ver.  7. 
A  time  to  rend  and  a  time  to  sew ;  a  time  to  keep  silence 
and  a  time  to  speak :  Ver.  8.  A  time  to  love  and  a  time  to 
hate ;  a  time  of  war  and  a  time  of  peace.  Ver.  9.  What 
profit  hath  he  that  produceth  in  that  wherein  he  laboureth  ? 
Ver.  10./  have  seen  the  travail  luhich  God  hath  given  to  the 


CHAPTER  III.  8  a 

soQis  of  men  to  he  exercised  in  it.  Ver.  11.  iTe  makcth  every- 
thing beautiful  in  his  time,  eternity  also  he  hath  set  in  their 
heart,  so  that  no  man  can  find  out  the  work  that  God  maketh, 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end.  Ver.  12.  /  hioiv  that  there 
is  no  good  in  them,  but  that  one  rejoice  and  do  good  in  his 
life.  Ver.  13.  And  also  every  man  that  eats  and  drinks,  and 
sees  good  in  all  his  labour,  that  is  a  gift  of  God.  Ver.  14. 
J  know  that  whatsoever  God  doeth  it  shall  be  for  ever  :  nothing 
can  be  put  to  it  and  nothing  can  be  taken  from  it :  and  God 
doeth  it  that  they  should  fear  before  Him.  Ver.  15.  That 
which  hath  been  is  notu  ;  and  that  tvhich  is  to  be  hath  already 
been,  and  God  seeketh  the  persecuted.  Ver.  IG.  And  further 
saw  I  under  the  sun  ;  the  place  of  judgment,  tuickedness  is 
there  ;  the  place  of  righteousness,  the  wicked  is  there.  Ver.  1 7. 
I  said  in  mine  heart,  God  shall  judge  the  righteous  and  the 
wicked,  for  there  is  a  time  there  for  every  desire  and  about 
every  work.  Ver.  18./  said  in  mine  heart,  because  of  the 
children  of  men  that  God  may  purify  them,  and  in  order 
that  they  may  see  that  in  tJiemselves  they  are  beasts.  Ver.  1 9. 
For  accident  are  the  children  of  men,  and  accident  are  the 
beasts,  and  one  accident  befalls  them,  as  the  one  dies  so  dieth 
also  the  other ;  yea,  they  have  all  one  breath,  so  that  man 
hath  no  pre-eminence  above  the  beast,  for  all  is  vanity.  Ver. 
20.  All  go  unto  one  place,  cdl  are  of  the  dust,  and  all  turn 
to  dust  again.  Ver.  2 1 .  Who  knoweth  the  spirit  of  the  chil- 
dren of  men,  that  goeth  upivard,  and  the  breath  of  the  beast 
that  goeth  doivniuard  to  the  earth  ?  Ver.  22.  And  I  satv  that 
nothing  is  better  than  that  a  man  should  rejoice  in  his  oivn 
works,  for  that  is  his  doing,  for  ivho  shall  bring  hvm  to  see 
what  shall  take  place  after  hhn  ? 

Ver.  1.  To  everything  there  is  a  season  :  not  one  that  is 
based  on  a  blind  fate,  for  that  would  be  but  a  miserable  con- 
solation, but  one  that  is  ordered  by  a  God  who  is  compas- 
sionate, gracious,  long-suft'ering,  of  great  love  and  ftiithfulness, 
who  even  in  his  anger  never  forgets  mercy,  who  has  thoughts 
of  peace  towards  his  people  languishing  in  misery,  and  who, 
though  he  chastises  them,  never  gives  them  over  to  the 
power  of  death.  If  things  go  ill  all  we  have  to  do  is  to  wait 
patiently  for  the  hour  of  redemption,  and  at  the  end  the 
people  of  God  must  receive  that  which  is  best  for  their  per- 


90  CHAPTER  III. 

tion.  Parallel  with  this  are  the  words  of  Psalm  Ixxv.  S, 
"  For  I  shall  take  a  set  time,  then  shall  I  judge  uprightly." 
This  set  time  is  that  which  God  has  appointed  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  counsels  he  has  decreed.  Compare  also 
Psalm  cii.  1 4,  "  Tliou  shalt  arise  and  have  mercy  upon  Zion, 
for  the  time  to  favour  her,  yea  the  set  time  is  come."  To  this 
time  appointed  by  God  we  ought  to  direct  our  eye  in  the 
midst  of  our  afflictions.  This  point  of  time  will  arrive  when 
God's  visitations  of  His  Church  have  reached  their  final  ter- 
mination (Isaiah  x.  12).  These  visitations  also  have  their 
season,  and  whoso  knows  this,  whoso  recognizes  that  in  afflic- 
tions God's  hand  lies  upon  him,  cannot  surely  fail  to  experi- 
ence joy  and  consolation.  On  this  passage  are  based  the 
words  of  John  vii.  30,  "They  sought  to  take  him;  but  no 
man  laid  hands  on  him,  because  his  hour  was  not  yet  come." 
Gesenius'  explanation  :  "  Everything  lasts  but  for  a  time, 
nothing  is  permanent,"  is  quite  incorrect.  Ver.  1 4  is  sufficient 
to  show  this.  The  idea  is  rather  this,  that  in  misfortune  we 
must  learn  to  wait,  inasmuch  as  man  has  no  power  to  alter 
the  times  and  seasons,  and  can  take  to  himself  nothing  which 
is  not  given  him  from  above.  "Accept  cheerfully,  docile 
child,  what  it  pleases  God  to  send,  and  though  the  winds  blow 
and  are  so  tempestuous  as  to  threaten  everything  with  destruc- 
tion around  thee,  be  comforted,  for  that  which  befalls  thee  is 
according  to  the  will  of  God."  Those  also  completely  miss 
the  right  meaning  of  the  words  who  suppose  that  they  con- 
tain a  direction  to  men  to  do  whatever  they  have  to  do  at 
the  right  time.'""     And  a  time  for  every   desire    under  the 


*  In  opposition  to  this  view,  says  Rambach — "  ex  quibus  omnibus  apparet, 
non  hie  voluisse  Salomonem  vitje  regulas,  de  tempestivitate  in  actionibiis  omni- 
bus observandas  praescriberc  ut  tamen  multi  censuerunt :  si  quidem  ea  hie 
enarrantur  qute  non  dependent  ab  hominis  arbitrio  et  voluntate,  ut  nasci,  mori, 
perdere,  etc.,  unde  hie  prascepto  de  canta  temporis  observantia  nullus  locus 
relinquitur."  J.  D.  Michaelis  says :  "  Unless  the  proposition,  so  variously 
illustrated  in  verses  1-8,  is  to  be  explained  as  if  it  had  no  connection  with  what 
precedes  and  follows,  and  were  thrown  out  at  random,  it  is  impossible  that  it 
should  be  a  prescription  to  do  everything  at  the  right  time :  it  must  rather  be 
intended  to  teach  that  everything  happens  and  comes  at  a  time  definitely  ap- 
pointed, be  it  prosperity  or  misfortune.  The  sense  is  clear  from  the  following 
ninth  verse,  where  Solomon  draws  from  the  proposition  the  conclusion — "What 
profit  hath  he  that  worketh  in  that  wherein  he  laboured  ?"  Since  God  deter- 
mines everything,  a  man's  happiness  Avill  not  depend  on  his  own  work,  but  how 


CHAPTER  III.  91 

heaven.  It  is  usually  assumed  that  ^sn  is  employed  here  in 
the  sense  of  "  thing,  affair."  Elsewhere,  however,  pn  is  always 
used  to  designate  "  favour,  good  pleasure."  In  this  book  also, 
as  is  universally  allowed,  it  occurs  several  times  in  tliis  sense 
(see  chap.  xii.  1-10,  chap.  v.  3) ;  as  also  in  the  contemporane- 
ously written  book  of  Malachi  (see  chap.  i.  1 0).  Consequently 
if  at  all  practicable  this  meaning  must  be  retained  here,  as 
well  as  in  ver.  17,  and  chap.  v.  7,  viii.  6  ;  here  especially, 
because  if  we  accept  the  signification  "  business,"  we  shall 
have  a  mere  tautology,  for  there  is  no  difference  whatever 
between  ny  and  pT-  This  clearly  ascertained  meaning  suits 
the  connection  also  perfectly  :  }>sn  denotes  the  desire  which 
believers  have  to  see  the  kingdom  of  God  established.  They 
thought  it  ought  to  come  immediately,  but  they  will  be  com- 
pelled to  wait  for  the  time  which  has  been  fixed  in  the  coun- 
sels of  God.  Our  wish  is  not  fulfilled  when  we  will,  but 
when  God  wills.  It  is  enough  that  it  will  one  day  be  satisfied. 
The  application  of  the  words,  "  Every  desire,"  is,  of  course, 
limited  and  defined  by  the  character  of  the  persons  to  whom 
the  singer  speaks.  In  reality  he  refers  to  the  wishes  of  the 
people  of  God  which  longs  for  the  coming  of  His  kingdom. 
This  limitation  is  absolutely  necessary.  Applied  to  the  world, 
both  the  declaration  here  and  Paul  Gerhard's  paraphrase  of  it, 
given  below,  would  be  utterly  ftilse.t  Luther's  remarks  on 
this  place  are  as  follows — "  This  then  is  to  be  understood, 
that  everything  has  its  time  and  every  human  purpose  its 
brief  season  :  i.  e.,  there  is  a  certain  fixed  hour  for  everything. 
As  when  kingdoms,  lands,  and  principalities  are  to  arise  there 
is  an  hour  for  them  ;  if  they  are  to  fall  there  is  also  an  hour 
for  that ;  for  war  and  tumults  there  is   a  season :  for  peace 


be  stands  with  God.  At  all  events,  I  am  not  fortunate  enough  to  be  able  to  find 
any  connection  between  an  admonition  to  do  everything  at  the  right  time,  and 
the  words  of  the  above-mentioned  ninth  verse." 

t  "  Kommt's  nicht  heute  wie  man  will 
Sey  man  nur  ein  wenig  still 
1st  doch  morgen  auch  ein  Tag 
Da  jlie  Wohlfahrt  kommen  mag. 

Gottes  zeit  halt  ihren  Schritt 

Wenn  die  kommt,  komrot  unsre  Bitt, 

Und  die  Freude  reichlich  mit." 


92  CHAPTER  III. 

also  and 'quietude  there  is  a  season  ;  and  when  the  time  for 
these  things  is  come,  no  wit  of  man  can  hinder  or  prevent  it. 
Tliere  was  a  set  time  for  the  Roman  Empire  and  all  great 
kingdoms  to  grow,  and  no  thought  of  man  rendered  any  help 
therein.  Again,  when  the  hour  struck  which  was  to  see 
them  decline  and  fall,  no  propping  and  supporting  was  of  any 
use.  All  this  is,  therefore,  directed  against  the  free  will  of 
man,  and  against  all  human  purposes  and  fancies,  but  especi- 
ally against  the  notion  that  it  is  in  our  power  to  determine 
seasons,  and  hours,  and  persons,  and  measures,  and  place ;  that 
we  can  settle  how  the  affairs  of  this  world  shall  go,  how  its 
gi-eat  potentates  shall  rise  and  fall,  how  joy  and  sadness, 
building  up  and  pulling  down,  war  and  peace,  shall  succeed 
and  take  the  place  of  each  other,  how  they  shall  begin  and  end  : 
it  is  to  impress  on  us  the  fact  that  ere  the  hour  arrives  it  is 
wasted  effort  for  men  to  think,  and  their  proposals  are  use- 
less and  vain  :  in  fine,  we  are  taught  that  nothing  comes  to 
pass  before  the  hour  fixed  for  it  by  God.  His  doctrine  the 
writer  confirms  by  examples  from  all  branches  of  human  ex- 
perience, and  says,  "  Building  has  its  time  and  breaking  down 
has  its  time,"  and  so  forth,  from  which  he  judges  that  all  the 
counsels,  the  thoughts,  the  devices,  and  the  efforts  of  men  are 
but  as  shadows  and  mock-fighting,  unless  the  thing  is  already 
determined  on  in  Heaven.  Kings,  princes,  and  lords  may 
take  counsel  and  agree  together  upon  all  as  they  shall  think 
fit,  but  whenever  the  hour  strikes  for  any  event  whatever,  it 
takes  place  and  other  matters  remain  standing  and  hinder 
each  other ;  and  although  it  seems  as  if  the  well  planned 
scheme  must  now  be  executed,  nothing  comes  of  it,  and 
nothing  can  come  of  it  till  the  predetermined  hour  has  struck, 
even  if  all  men  on  earth  were  to  put  forth  the  most  violent 
efforts.  God  will  not  suffer  the  hands  of  his  great  clock  to 
be  pointed  by  the  kings  and  princes  and  lords  of  the 
earth  :  He  will  Himself  point  them  :  nor  may  we  take  upon 
ourselves  to  inform  Him  what  hour  has  struck  :  'tis  He  who 
will  tell  us.  Wherefore  also  Christ  said,  "  mine  hour  is  not 
yet  come."  And  how  many  stern  counsels,  nay,  how  did  all 
the  efforts  of  the  Pharisees  and  chief  men  of  the  Jews  remain 
fruitless  until  that  hour  arrived.  Wherefore  also  Christ  spake 
further,  "  A  woman  when    she  is  in  travail  hath  sorrow  be- 


CHAPTER  III.  93 

cause  her  hour  is  come."  Thus  hath  the  Lord  fixed  a  season 
for  everything,  for  being  rich  and  poor,  for  Hving  and  dying, 
and  for  every  other  phase  of  human  experience.  In  refer- 
ence to  the  words,  "and  a  time  to  every  desire  under  the 
Heaven,"  Luther  remarks  :  "The  Hebrew  word  Chephetz 
signifies  that  with  which  one  is  occupied,  that  wliich  is  the 
object  of  desire,  love,  purpose.  Thus  in  Psahn  i.  it  is  said, 
'  those  who  have  the  desire  and  determination  to  keep  God's 
law.'  The  writer  includes  under  the  term  Chephetz  every- 
thing which  men  would  fain  possess,  to  which  their  heart  in- 
clines, after  which  their  yearnings  go  forth  ;  and  he  intends 
to  say  here,  because  thereof  they  worry  and  afilict  themselves, 
every  man  in  his  season  :  princes  and  lords  vex  themselves 
for  great  glory,  power,  reputation,  and  renown,  and  so  forth; 
others  for  honour,  possessions,  luxury,  and  good  days,  and  so 
forth.  But  their  thoughts  and  cares  will  prove  in  vain,  un- 
less they  hit  upon  the  appointed  hour :  and  even  though 
they  may  be  the  very  persons  who  are  destined  to  receive  all 
these  things,  still  their  haste  and  anticipatory  labours  are  use- 
less until  God's  gracious  season  arrives — then  all  is  speedily 
effected.  Therefore  does  it  behove  each  of  us  in  our  several 
positions  to  do  the  work  and.  discharge  the  office  entrusted  to 
him,  to  commend  all  his  ways  to  God,  to  use  cheerfully  that 
which  God  bestows  on  him  at  the  present  moment,  and  to 
leave  the  arrangement  of  the  future  to  His  Divine  Wisdom. 
Whoso  is  of  the  mind  to  act  otherwise,  and  determines  in 
despedum  Dei  to  i-ush  on  before  the  appointed  hour,  will 
reap  nothing  but  misfortune  and  sorrow  of  heart  for  his  pains, 
and,  let  him  rage  and  murmur  as  long  as  he  will,  God  heeds 
him  not."  To  these  excellent  remarks  of  Luther's  we  have 
only  one  exception  to  take,  namely,  that,  as  is  the  case  also 
with  Melancthon,  too  little  stress  is  laid  on  the  special  refer- 
ence to  the  people  and  kingdom  of  God.  The  general  thought 
here  expressed  is  further  discussed  in  the  succeeding  seven 
verses,  each  of  which  touches  upon  two  pairs  of  subjects. 
That  the  discussion  contained  in  these  verses  has  respect  to 
the  entire  Church  of  God,  and  not  merely  to  the  experiences 
of  individual  believers,  though  of  course  bearing  an  analogous 
application  to  them,  is  evident  at  once  from  the  words  of 
ver.  2,  "  a  time  to  bear,"  and  of  ver.  3,  "  a  time  to  kill  and  a 


94  CHAPTER  III. 

time  to  heal."  Such  modes  of  activity  can  only  be  predicated, 
and  therefore  suggest  the  thought,  of  a  great  whole  ;  and  be- 
sides, the  highly  important  words  in  Deuteronomy  xxxii.  39, 
"  See  now  that  I  even  I  am  he,  and  there  is  no  God  with  me : 
I  kill  and  I  make  alive,  I  wound  and  I  heal  :  neither  is  there 
any  that  can  deliver  out  of  my  hand,"  render  it  easy  to  con- 
ceive that  by  this  great  whole  is  meant  the  people  of  God. 
That  national  events  are  alluded  to  is  implied  also  in  the 
words,  "  Cast  away  stones,  and  gather  stones  together."  Fur- 
ther, a  guide  to  the  just  understanding  of  the  whole  is  fur- 
nished by  the  concluding  verse,  the  8th,  "A  time  for  war 
and  a  time  for  peace."  The  parallel  passages  moreover  in- 
volve this  reference  to  the  nation  ;  a  view  which,  according  to 
the  testimony  of  Jerome,  is  exceedingly  ancient.* 

Ver.  2.  There  is  a  time  to  bear  and  a  time  to  die.  The 
mistake  with  respect  to  the  national  reference  of  this  passage 
led  to  the  adoption  of  the  meaning — "  to  be  born,"  Vidgate, 
nascendi.  The  infinitive  of  n^*"  occurs  no  fewer  than  twenty- 
four  times,  and  always  in  the  signification  of  "  to  bear,"  never 
in  that  of  "  to  be  born."  An  example  of  this  is  Genesis  xxv. 
24 — "  and  her  days  were  full  nihb  to  bear,"  not,  "  to  be  born  :" 
another  is  found  in  Isaiah  xxvi.  1 7,  "  Like  as  a  woman  with 
child  that  draweth  near  the  time  of  her  delivery."  mh  ny 
is  "time  of  bearing,  of  delivery,"  in  Genesis  xxxviii.  27,  in 
Job  xxxix.  2  :  Compare  also  Luke  i.  17;  rfj  8i  EXiadlSir  sTXriffdri 
6  yjivoi  Tou  TiTiih  auTrjv.  In  fact  no  instance  whatever  can  be 
adduced  in  which  the  Active  Infinitive  stands  for  the  Passive. 
In  Proverbs  xii.  7,  to  which  Gesenius  appeals,  r\z>n  signifies 
"  they  destroy,"  in  xv.  22,  nan  signifies  "  they  bring  to  nought." 
The  people  of  God  personified  as  a  woman  is  not  unfrequently 
said  to  "travail  and  bear,"  when  in  times  of  prosperity  it  grows 
and  waxes  strong,  and  the  number  of  its  members  becomes 
greater.  Thus  for  example  in  Isaiah  liv.  1,  "Sing,  O  barren, 
thou  that  didst  not  bear  ;  break  forth  into  singing  and  cry 
aloud,  thou  that  didst  not  travail  with  child,  for  more  are  the 


Hebraji  omne  hoc  quod  de  contrarietate  temporum  scriptum  est,  usque  ad 
ilium  locum  in  quo  ait :  tempus  belli  et  tempus  pacis,  super  Israel  intelligunt. 
Explaining  their  meaning  Jerome  says — Tempus  fuit  generandi  et  plantandi 
Israelem,  tempus  moriendi  et  ducendi  in  captivitatem.  Tempus  occidcndi  eos  in 
-iEgypto  et  tempus  de  ^gypto  liberandi. 


CHAPTER  III.  95 

children  of  the  desolate  than  the  children  of  the  married  wife, 
saith  the  Lord."  See  also  Isaiah  Ixvi.  7,  "  Before  she  travailed, 
she  brought  forth,  before  her  pain  came  she  was  delivered  of 
a  manchild  : "  verse  8,  "  for  as  soon  as  Zion  travailed,  she 
brought  forth  her  sons."  If  our  explanation  of  the  words  is 
correct,  the  reference  to  them  which  John  xvi.  21  unmistake- 
ably  bears,  becomes  perfectly  clear.  There  the  hour  approaches 
for  the  woman  who  is  to  bear,  and  she  is  the  image  of  the 
Church.  In  the  main  this  is  for  her  a  time  of  gladness.  The 
momentary  pain  which  forms  necessarily  a  point  of  transition 
therein,  is  a  feature  added  by  the  Saviour. — In  contradistinc- 
tion to  bearing  stands  dying.  Both  however  are  in  like  man- 
ner under  the  superintendence  of  holy  love.  Both  come  from 
our  faithful  heavenly  Father,  who  has  thoughts  of  peace  to- 
wards His  people,  who  chastises  them  even  unto  death,  but 
never  gives  them  over  into  the  hands  of  death.  A  very 
extensive  use  is  made  of  death  in  the  Old  Testament  as  the 
symbol  of  the  severe  afflictions  of  the  people  of  God.  "  My 
God  and  mine  Holy  One,"  cries  Israel  in  Habakkuk  i.  I  2, 
"  let  us  not  die."  In  Psalm  Ixxxv.  7,  it  is  said — "  Wilt  thou 
not  revive  us  again,  and  shall  not  thy  people  rejoice  in  thee  ?" 
— In  Psalm  Ixxi.  20,  "Thou  which  hast  shewed  me  great  and 
sore  troubles  shalt  return  and  quicken  us  again :" — In  Hosea 
yi.  2,  "  After  two  days  he  will  revive  us  :  in  the  third  day  he 
will  raise  us  up,  that  we  may  live  before  him."  We  find  the  most 
detailed  employment  of  death  to  describe  the  degeneracy  of  the 
Church  and  of  resurrection  to  express  its  restoration  in  Ezekiel 
xxxvii.  The  chief  passage  however  is  Deuteronomy  xxxii.  39, 
"  I  kill  and  I  make  alive."  Compare  besides  Psalm  xlviii.  1 5, 
Ixviii.  21,  Ixxx.  19.  Israel  was  in  a  state  of  death  when  the 
author  wrote.  If  it  recognised  God's  hand  working  in  this 
death  it  must  prove  an  easy  matter  for  it  to  rise  to  the  hope 
of  that  life  which  the  same  God  had  promised  in  His  word, 
and  which  stands  ever  at  the  termination  of  God's  dealings 
with  His  people.  Moreover  death,  although  in  itself  bitter, 
becomes  sweet  to  the  man  who  is  thoroughly  penetrated  by 
the  conviction  that  he  is  in  God's  hands,  and  is  drinking  from 
God's  cup.  Luther  says — "To  behevers  and  Christians  all 
this  is  very  consolatory  ;  for  they  know  that  no  tyrant's 
sword  can  kill  or  destroy  them,  and  that  before  their  hour 


96  CHAPTER  III. 

comes  no  creature  whatever  can  harm  them.  Hence  they  do  not 
trouble  and  worry  themselves  much  about  death,  but  when  it 
comes  they  die  unto  the  will  of  God  as  he  pleases,  like  lambs 
and  young  children." — A  time  to  plant  and  a  time  to  pluck 
np  that  wJdch  is  planted.  In  this  respect  also  the  people  of 
God  experience  change  according  to  the  holy  purposes  of  their 
Lord,  who  sends  them  at  one  time  the  undeserved  grace  of 
prosperity,  and  at  another  time,  as  punishment  merited  by 
their  ingratitude,  he  inflicts  upon  them  the  loss  of  everything. 
When  these  troubles  befal  us  we  must  not  murmur  nor  despair, 
but  humble  ourselves  under  the  strong  hand,  repent  and  hope. 
Even  to  feel  the  angry  hand  of  God  upon  us  is  a  sweet  com- 
fort. Compare  Psalm  xliv.  3,  where,  in  regard  to  the  period 
under  Joshua  so  rich  in  signs  of  gTace,  it  is  said  :  "  Thou  hast 
with  thy  hand  driven  out  the  heathen  and  planted  them  ;" 
also  Psalm  Ixxx.  9,  "  thou  broughtest  a  vine  out  of  Egypt : 
thou  didst  cast  out  the  heathen  and  didst  plant  it."  Compare 
further  also  what  is  written  in  Psalm  Ixxx.  13,  14,  in  refer- 
ence to  the  plucking  up  of  what  was  planted,  which  was 
effected  by  the  power  of  this  world,  into  whose  hands  de- 
generate Israel  had  been  given  over  for  punishment :  "  Why 
hast  thou  then  broken  down  her  walls  so  that  all  they  which 
pass  by  the  way  do  pluck  her  ?  The  boar  out  of  the  wood 
doth  waste  it,  and  the  wild  beast  of  the  field  doth  devour 
it." 

Ver.  3.  A  time  to  Jcill  and  a  time  to  heal.  Here  also  again 
the  principal  passage  is  Deuteronomy  xxxii.  39:  "I  kill  and 
I  make  alive  ;  I  wound  and  I  heal."  On  it  are  based  both 
the  present  words  and  those  of  Hosea  vi.  1 :  "  Up  and  let  us 
return  to  the  Lord  ;  for  he  hath  torn  and  he  will  heal ;  he 
smites  and  he  will  bind  us  up."  To  the  jnn  of  this  place  cor- 
responds there  the  "tearing  and  smiting."  jin  "to  murder" 
is  predicated  of  God  in  relation  to  His  people  in  Psalm  Ixxviii. 
31,  34:  "When  he  slew  them,  then  they  sought  him  and  they 
returned  and  inquired  after  him,"  (compare  Jeremiah  xii.  3, 
vii.  34,  xix.  6.)  The  state  of  the  people  must  have  been 
desperately  bad,  if  God,  who  in  his  treatment  of  them  is 
gracious  and  merciful,  long-suffering,  and  of  great  kindness, 
finds  himself  compelled  to  resort  to  such  temble  means.  Still, 
destruction  is  never  the  end  of  the  ways  of  God  with  His 


CHAPTER  III.  97 

people.  Only  as  a  passage  to  life,  does  lie  ordain  death.  In 
regard  to  the  "  healing"  compare  besides  Exodus  xv.  26,  where 
the  Lord  describes  himself  as  Israel's  physician,  (compare  Isaiah 
vi.  10.) — A  time  to  break  doivn  and  a  time  to  build  up. 
pD  signifies  not  "  to  destroy,"  but  "  to  pull  down."  It  is  used 
especially  of  pulling  down  protecting  walls  and  hedges.  Com- 
pare Isaiah  v.  5,  where  the  Lord  says  in  reference  to  the  vine- 
yard of  Israel :  "  Break  down  its  hedges  and  he  will  tread  it 
down  ;" — Psalm  Ixxxix.  4,  "  Thou  tearest  down  all  its  hedges," 
(compare  Ixxx.  13.)  In  chap.  x.  4  the  phrase  is  found  in 
completeness.  Nehemiah  speaks  in  chap.  ii.  13  of  his  book, 
of  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  which  were  broken  down,  D''^~iD, 
and  of  its  gates  which  were  burned  by  fire,  in  consequence  of 
the  destruction  by  the  Chaldeans  :  further  in  2  Kings  xiv.  1 3, 
it  is  said,  "and  he  brake  down  of  the  wall  of  Jerusalem  four 
hundred  cubits"  (compare  besides  Nehemiah  iv.  1).  This  tear- 
ing down  and  building  up  may  take  place,  in  an  outward 
manner,  as  it  did  at  the  time  of  the  occupation  of  Jerusalem 
by  the  Chaldeans,  and  after  the  return  from  the  captivity,  or 
it  may  take  place  spiritually,  through  the  entrance  of  the 
Church  on  times  of  great  degeneracy,  and  the  restoration  and 
elevation  thereof  to  prosperity.  Thus  in  Jeremiah  xlii.  10, 
where  we  read — "if  ye  will  settle  again  in  this  land,  then 
will  I  build  you  and  not  pull  you  down,  and  I  will  plant  you 
and  not  pluck  you  up," — persons  are  the  object  of  the  build- 
ing up  and  pulling  down,  which  terms  must  therefore  be  un- 
derstood figuratively,  as  Michaelis  takes  them,  longoevitate, 
liberis,  opibus  omnibusque  bonifi  vos  aiicturus.  The  same 
thing  is  tnie  also  of  Jeremiah  xxiv.  6,  "  and  I  bring  them 
again  to  this  land  ;  and  I  will  build  them  and  I  will  not  pull 
them  down  ;  and  I  will  plant  them  and  not  pluck  them  up  : " 
and  of  chap.  xxxi.  4,  "  Again  I  wiU  build  thee  and  thou  shalt 
be  built,  O  virgin  of  Israel."  The  second  clause  of  Psalm  li. 
18 — "do  good  in  thy  good  pleasure  unto  Sion,  build  thou  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem,"  is  explained  by  the  first : — God  builds 
the  walls  of  Zion  in  that  he  furthers  its  well-being.  The  mere 
fact  that  it  was  composed  by  David  forbids  us  taking  the 
external  view.  In  a  material  sense,  the  walls  of  Jerusalem 
were  not  destroyed  in  the  days  of  David.  In  the  same  way 
are  we  to  understand  Psalm  cii.  1 4,  1 5  :   "  thou  shalt  arise 

G 


98  CHAPTER  III. 

and  have  mercy  upon  Zion,  for  the  time  to  favour  her,  yea  the 
set  time  is  come.  For  thy  servants  take  pleasure  in  her  stones, 
and  they  grieve  over  its  dust."  Under  the  image  of  a  building 
in  ruins  is  brought  before  us  the  Church  of  God  in  its  reduced 
condition.  Consequently  the  time  for  pulling  down  is  always 
present  when  God  abandons  his  Church  to  inimical  powers. 
Such  a  time  of  pulling  down,  for  example,  was  that  of  the 
dominion  of  Rationalism.  But  the  men  whose  hearts  bleed 
during  such  a  period  should  never  forget  that  above  and  be- 
hind the  destructive  forces  stands  the  Lord,  and  that  in  the 
long  run  his  counsels,  and  his  alone,  shall  be  accomplished. 
After  a  manner  very  similar  to  that  of  this  book  are  the  diverse 
modes  of  God's  action  contrasted  in  Jeremiah  i.  1 0.  The  pro- 
phet was  commissioned  on  God's  behalf  to  "  destroy,  to  throw 
down,  to  build,  and  to  plant."  In  Jeremiah  xviii.  7-9,  it  is 
said  in  regard  to  Israel — "  suddenly  I  shaU  speak  concerning 
a  nation,  and  concerning  a  kingdom,  to  pluck  up  and  to  pull 
down,  and  to  destroy  it :  if  that  nation  against  whom  I  have 
pronounced,  turn  from  their  evil,  I  will  repent  of  the  evil  that 
I  thought  to  do  unto  them.  And  suddenly  I  shaU  speak  con- 
cerning a  nation  and  concerning  a  kingdom,  to  build  and  to 
plant."  The  people  of  God  has  this  privilege,  however,  that 
God  always  pulls  down  and  destroys  as  a  means  and  prepara- 
tion for  buiiding,  and  that  to  this  latter  as  a  final  aim  the 
divine  purposes  are  directed.*  Hence  in  the  kingdom  of  God 
it  is  possible  to  be  joyous  and  contented,  even  when,  for  the 
moment,  the  season  of  pulling  down  is  present.  Up  to  this 
point  commencement  was  made  with  the  redemptive  and  bene- 
ficent aspect  of  human  and  divine  activity  :  here  it  forms  the 
conclusion.  That  the  author  intentionally  makes  it  form  the 
commencement  and  the  close  of  the  whole,  is  unmistakeable. 
It  began  with  "  bearing,"  and  it  ends  with  "  peace."  If  then 
beginning  is  good,  and  end  is  good,  we  may  reasonably  be  less 
anxious  and  careful  about  that  which  meanwhile  befals  us,  and 
may  look  with  a  calm  and  cheerful  mind  on  the  changes  now 
taking  place  around  us. 


•  Jerome :  "  Non  possumus  ffidificare  bona  nisi  prius  destmxerimus  mala. 
Idcirco  sic  Jeremiae  verbum  a  deo  datum  est,  ut  ante  eradicaret  et  suffoderet  et 
pp.rderet ;  et  postea  asdificaret  atque  plantaret." 


CHAPTER  III.  09 

Ver.  4.  A  time  to  weep  and  a  time  to  laugh.  There  are 
seasons  when  those  who  belong  to  the  kingdom  of  God  must 
weep,  because  the  Lord  hides  his  face  from  the  house  of  Israel, 
(Isaiah  viii.  1 7,)  and  there  are  also  times  when  they  can  rejoice. 
Joy  always  comes  last.  ^  For  this  reason  the  weeping  of  the 
children  of  God  is  quite  different  from  that  of  the  world.  It 
always  has  a  background  of  hope.  Theirs  is  not  the  anguish 
of  despair  ;  it  is  a  sadness  which  takes  comfort.  Our  Lord 
alludes  to  this  passage  when  He  says  in  Luke  vi.  21,  fiaxdpioi 
0/  xXaiovTsg  vuv  on  yikasirt.  In  close  connection  also  with  this 
passage  stands  John  xvi.  20  :  afhri^i  ai^nv  "kiyu  v/a/v  or;  xXaitfsrg 
xa/  8priv7}SiTi  vft^iTg^  6  ds  -/.6ff//,og  ^aprjSSTS,  vfisTg  8i  XvrrridriOiSdi,  aXX'  jj 
XuTJj  ii/j^uv  iig  ')(a.fav  yivriGirat.  When  it  is  the  time  for  weeping 
it  is  useless  to  try  aijd  force  ourselves  to  laughter,  as  is  the 
fashion  of  the  world,  which  seeks  to  forget  and  gild  over  its 
misery  until  at  last  it  falls  a  victim  to  despair.  Our  course 
should  be  that  which  is  enjoined  on  us  in  1  Peter  v.  6,  Tamt- 
vu9i^TS  Q-jv  hiTo  TTjv  xpuTaiocv  ^iTpa  To\j  6sou  ha  h/xag  l/-4/W(T?j  Iv  aaipSj  : 
Bengel — in  tempore  opportuno,  when  the  season  for  laughter 
has  arrived.  This  season  however  we  may  not  endeavour  to  an- 
ticipate :  our  moods  of  feelings  should  go  hand  in  hand  with  the 
various  phases  of  divine  providence  :  we  should  act  in  short 
like  the  children  of  Israel,  who  once  in  the  days  of  their  cap- 
tivity hung  their  harps  on  the  willows  and  refused  to  sing  the 
songs  of  Zion.  A  time  to  mourn  and  a  time  to  dance.  On 
these  words  it  is  remarked  in  the  Berleburger  Bible — "  If  any 
man  at  another  time  is  visited  by  still  severer  misfortunes,  then 
weeping  will  not  suffice,  but  wailing  must  be  added  thereto, 
that  is,  a  great  and  pubHc  mourning  must  take  place  in  that 
we  wring  our  hands  above  our  heads  and  express  our  lamen- 
tation in  the  gestures  and  attitude  of  sorrow." 

Ver.  5.  A  time  to  cast  atuay  stones  and  a  time  to  gather 
stones  together.  What  the  Lord  says  in  Mark  xiii.  2,  jSXsmig 
ravTag  rag  /xsydXag  olzodofj^dg  ;  oh  ihri  d(pi&ri  "ki&og  srr}  XidcfJ  og  ov  fbri 
xarbcXvO^,  holds  good  of  the  Church  in  all  its  periods  of  degen- 
eracy. When  the  Church  ceases  to  be  the  true  house  of  God, 
the  time  for  the  scattering  of  its  stones  is  not  far  off  With 
the  scattering,  however,  the  gathering  always  goes  hand  in 
hand.  At  the  time  when  the  old  Temple  of  Jerusalem  was 
destroyed,  there  rose  up  in  its  stead  the  glorious  edifice  of  the 


100  CHAPTER  III. 

temple  of  the  Christian  Church.  Previously  God  scattered 
stones  by  the  hands  of  the  Chaldeans  :  through  his  servant 
Cjrrus  he  gathered  them  together. — A  time  to  embrace,  and  a 
time  to  refrain  from  embracing.  There  is  a  season  when  the 
Lord  embraces  his  people,  and  a  season  when  he  does  not  per- 
mit them  the  enjoyment  of  his  love,  but  repels  them  from  his 
presence.  When  He  treats  us  in  the  latter  way  we  should 
revolve  in  our  hearts  the  words  of  Psalm  xlii. :  "  Why  art 
thou  cast  down,  O  my  soul  ?  And  why  art  thou  disquieted 
within  me  ?  hope  thou  in  God  ;  "  and  we  should  beg  and  pray 
and  acknowledge  and  express  our  sins  until  He  becomes  once 
more  gracious.  The  expression  "  embrace"  takes  its  rise  in 
the  "  Song  of  Solomon,"  chap.  ii.  6,  where  the  bride,  which  is 
Zion,  says — "  His  left  hand  is  under  my  head,  and  his  right 
hand  doth  embrace  me."  That  elsewhere  also  in  Solomon's 
writings  this  transference  of  embracing  to  spiritual  relations 
occurs,  as  for  example  in  Proverbs  iv.  8  ;  v.  20,  I  have  shown 
in  my  Commentary  on  that  passage.  The  name  Habakkuk 
is  probably  derived  from  the  "  Song  of  Solomon."  It  signifies 
"  hearty  embrace,"  and  is  used  to  describe  the  tender  relation 
of  love  in  which  Israel  and  the  Prophet,  who  is  the  nation's 
representative,  stand  to  the  Lord  :  as  in  fact  Isaiah  styles  the 
Lord  in  chap  v.,  inn  and  inn''.  As  to  substance,  Jeremiah  xiii. 
offers  a  parallel :  for  there,  in  consideration  of  the  close  and 
living  relation  which  subsists  between  them,  Israel  appears 
under  the  image  of  a  girdle  which  the  Lord  lays  around  Him, 
and  which  He  puts  off  in  the  time  of  His  anger,  only  however 
to  put  it  on  again,  when  the  season  of  wrath  has  passed  away. 
Ver.  6.  A  time  to  seek  and  a  time  to  lose.  At  one  period 
the  Lord  interests  Himself  tenderly  in  His  people  :  at  another 
He  lets  them  go  to  ruin,  yet  in  such  a  manner,  that  in  the 
midst  of  wrath  He  remembers  mercy.  "  To  seek  "  is  generally 
predicated  of  believers  who  seek  the  Lord :  but  God  also  is 
said  to  "  seek  "  when  His  retributive  righteousness  comes  into 
play  (Joshua  xxii.  23),  and  when-  in  love  He  shows  compas- 
sion :  "God  seeks  the  persecuted"  (ver.  15).  With  the  word 
ms^  Jarchi  compares  Leviticus  xxvi.  38,  "  and  ye  shaU  perish 
among  the  heathen,  and  the  land  of  your  enemies  shall  eat 
you  up."  A  tim^e  to  keep  and  a  time  to  cast  away.  Now, 
the  Lord  protects  and  preserves  His  people  as  a  precious  jewel: 


CHAPTER  III.  101 

then  He  casts  it  from  Him  as  a  despicable  and  hateful  thing. 
Usually  God's  casting  away  signifies  banishment  from  His 
presence.  Thus  in  2  Kings  xiii.  23,  it  is  wiitten  in  respect 
of  the  ten  tribes,  "  and  the  Lord  was  gi-acious  unto  them,  and 
had  compassion  on  them,  and  had  respect  unto  them  because 
of  his  covenant  with  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  and  would 
not  -destroy  them,  and  cast  them  not  from  his  presence." 
Michaelis :  ut  postea  factwrn  est  (xvii.  18-20),  also  in  Jere- 
miah vii.  15,  where  the  Lord  says  to  Judah,  "and  /  cast 
you  from  my  presence,  as  I  cast  out  all  your  brethren,  the 
whole  tribe  of  Ephraim."  In  Fsalm  Ixxi.  9,  also,  where  Israel, 
now  growing  old,  cries,  "  cast  me  not  off  in  the  time  of  old 
age  ;  forsake  me  not  when  my  strength  faileth  :"  and  in  Psalm 
cii.  11,  as  here,  the  word  Tj^^jj^n  is  employed  alone.  Deuter- 
onomy xxix.  27,  furnishes  an  example  of  the  use  of  the  verb 
in  regard  to  God,  who  in  his  anger  casts  out  his  people  into  a 
strange  land. 

Ver.  7.  A  time  to  rend,  and  a  time  to  sew.  There  is  a  time 
when  the  people  of  God  must  mourn,  and  again  a  time  when 
they  can  rejoice.  j;ip  is  used  with  special  reference  to  the 
rending  of  the  clothes,  which  in  Israel  was  a  sign  of  mourn- 
ing. When  it  is  said  in  Genesis  xxxvii.  34,  "  and  Jacob  rent 
his  clothes,  and  put  sackcloth  upon  his  loins,  and  mourned 
for  his  son  many  days,"  we  recognize  in  Jacob  a  type  of  the 
people  of  God  and  of  the  Church  in  all  ages,  a  prophecy  in 
the  form  of  a  fact  which  is  being  fulfilled  ever  afresh.  Where 
there  is  the  like  cause,  there  is  the  like  result.  Was  it  neces- 
sary that  the  ancestor  should  be  visited  with  severe  afflic- 
tions on  account  of  his  sinfulness,  for  the  same  reason  must 
his  descendants  also  suflfer,  and  to  preserve  their  heart  from 
exalting  itself  God  ordains  that  through  much  tribulation 
they  shaU  enter  his  kingdom,  that  times  of  refreshing  from 
His  presence  shall  alternate  with  times  of  sorrow,  and  His 
unchangeable  love  disguises  itself  in  many  ways  and  fre- 
quently appears  under  forms  fitted  to  awaken  terror.  In 
Joshua  vii.  6  we  read,  "  and  Joshua  rent  his  clothes,  he  and 
the  elders  of  Israel :"  and  in  2  Samuel  xiii.  31,  "and  the  king 
arose  and  rent  his  clothes  and  lay  on  the  earth ;  and  all  his 
servants  stood  by  with  their  clothes  rent."  A  time  to  keep 
silence  and  a  time  to  speak     There  are  times  when   silence 


102  CHAPTER  III. 

must  be  observed,  as  Jacob  was  compelled  to  keep  silence 
when  lie  heard  how  Sichem  had  defiled  Dinah  his  daughter, 
until  his  sons  arrived  (Genesis  xxxiv.  5)  :  and  then  again 
come  times  when  we  may  speak  and  stand  up  boldly  in  the 
presence  of  the  enemies  of  God's  people,  as  when  the  Lord 
spake  to  Paul  in  the  vision  by  night,  when  the  Jews  of 
Corinth  tried  to  force  him  to  silence — "  Be  not  afraid,  but 
speak,  and  hold  not  thy  peace,"  (Acts  xviii.  9.)  When  the 
hour  appointed  by  God  arrives,  the  words  of  Psalm  cxxvii.  5, 
"they  shall  not  be  ashamed  when  they  speak  with  their 
enemies  in  the  gate,"  come  fully  true.  Till  then  we  must 
cover  our  faces  and  keep  silence.  But  it  is  notwithstanding 
a  blessed  silence,  for  it  is  attended  by  the  conviction  that  a 
time  to  speak  will  inevitably  come  again. 

Ver.  8.  A  time  to  love  and  a  trme  to  hate.  There  is  a 
time  when  the  Lord  causes  the  world  to  incline  in  love  to- 
wards His  people : .  and  again  a  time  when  He  gives  them 
over  to  the  world's  hatred.  In  respect  to  the  latter,  and  in 
connection  with  the  period  of  Israel's  residence  in  Egypt,  it 
is  said  in  Psalm  cv.  25,  "He  turned  their  heart  to  Imte  his 
people,  to  deal  subtilly  with  his  servants."  In  regard  to  the 
former  compare  Exodus  xi.  3,  where  the  Lord  is  represented 
as  having  given  the  people  such  favour  in  the  sight  of  the 
Egyptians,  that  they  offered  them  gifts  ;  also  Psalm  cvi.  46, 
where  concerning  the  Asiatic  oppressors  of  the  nation,  it  is 
declared  tiiat  "he  made  them  to  be  pitied  also  of  all  those 
that  carried  them  captives,"  (compare  1  Kings  viii.  50)  ; 
further,  Daniel  i.  9,  "  and  God  brought  Daniel  into  favour 
and  tender  love  with  the  prince  of  the  Eunuchs ;"  and  lastly, 
2  Kings  XXV.  27,  according  to  which  the  Lord  moved  the 
heart  of  Evilmerodach  to  compassion  towards  Jehoiachin, 
The  time  at  which  this  book  was  written  might  in  the  main 
be  characterised  as  one  of  "  hating,"  as  the  faithful  were  com- 
pelled to  acknowledge  by  the  painful  experience  of  every  day: 
but  the  word  of  God  was  pledged  that  a  "time  of  love" 
should  arrive,  such  as  had  never  previously  been  witnessed, 
and  in  the  hope  of  this,  they  found  it  easier  to  accept  tempo- 
rary hatred  from  the  same  kind  hand,  that  would  one  day 
bestow  upon  them  love.  The  era  was  before  the  door,  of 
which   Isaiah  prophesied  when  he  wrote,    "  and  kings  shall 


CHAPTER  III.  103 

be  thy  nursing  fathers  and  their  queens  thy  nursing  mothers," 
(chap.  xlix.  23),  and  "thou  shalt  also  suck  the  milk  of  the 
Gentiles,  and  shalt  suck  the  breast  of  kings  "  (chap.  Ix.  1 6), 
and  thus  saith  the  Lord ;  behold  I  will  extend  peace  to  her 
like  a  river,  and  the  glory  of  the  Gentiles  like  an  ovei-flowing 
stream  ;  then  shall  ye  suck,  ye  shall  be  borne  upon  her  sides, 
and  be  dandled  upon  her  knees."  Though  Zion  was  still 
"  deserted  and  hated  "  (Isaiah  lx.l  5),  it  had  no  need  to  be  very 
much  concerned  on  that  account.  Here  also  we  may  apply 
the  saying,  "  At  the  end  comes  the  best."  A  tivie  of  war 
and  a  time  of  peace.  The  sweet  name  of  peace,  which  is  an 
object  of  such  deep  affection  to  the  heart  of  the  struggling 
Church,  forms  the  conclusion  to  the  whole.  "  Peace,  peace,  to 
him  that  is  afar  off,  and  to  him  that  is  near,  saith  the  Lord." 
(Isaiah  Ivii.  19.) 

Ver.  9.  What  'profit  hath  he  that  produceth  in  that  wherein 
he  laboureth  ?  The  conclusion  which  follows  from  the  pre- 
ceding reflections  is  here  drawn.  Inasmuch  as  there  is  a  time 
for  everything,  it  follows  that  "  all  our  toils,  early  and  late, 
are  for  nought,  all  our  care  is  in  vain."  The  Berleburger 
Bible  remarks,  "  for  he  can  neither  pass  beyond  nor  alter  the 
fixed  limits  set  by  divine  providence,  so  as,  for  example,  to  be 
jojrful  when  the  hour  for  mourning  is  come."  All  care  and 
labour,  all  our  exhausting  eflbrts  apart  from  God,  (Cartwright. 
deo  non  aspirante,  a  quo  rerum  omnium  effectio  suspensa 
tenetur,)  are  pronounced  fruitless.  In  this,  however,  are  not 
included  the  "  doing  good,"  (ver.  1 2,)  and  "  unwearied  scatter- 
ing of  seed,"  (chap.  xi.  6,)  with  which  we  must  go  forward 
because  of  God's  command,  on  whose  will  it  depends  whether 
it  prove  a  blessing  or  not :  much  less  is  there  any  reference 
to  the  prayers  of  believers,  which  in  fact  are  as  strongly  called 
for  and  enjoined,  as  our  own  anxieties  and  labours  are  forbid- 
den and  excluded,  by  the  word  "  there  is  a  time  for  every- 
thing." Nay,  it  is  even  possible  that  prayer,  if  earnest,  may 
alter  the  aspect  of  the  times.  If  there  is  really  a  time  for 
everything,  then  surely  when  things  press  us  down  as  a  leaden 
weight,  we  should  lift  up  heart  and  hands  to  Him  who  can 
change  the  times  and  seasons."^"'     Luther  renders  the  words — 

*  "Wenn  wir  in  hochsten  Nothen  seyn 
Und  wissen  nicht  wo  aus  noch  ein, 


104?  CHAPTER  III. 

•'  what  can  a  man  do  more,  let  him  work  as  he  will  ?"  and 
remarks  on  them — "  it  is  just  this,  that  till  the  hour  arrives 
all  our  thought  and  labour  are  lost.  Notwithstanding  we 
must  all  work,  each  man  in  his  office,  and  use  diligence,  for 
God  commands  this.  If  w^e  hit  the  right  moment,  then  the 
business  succeeds  :  if  we  do  not,  nothing  comes  of  it,  and  no 
device  of  man  can  be  of  the  least  use." 

Ver.  10.  I  have  seen  the  travail  which  God  hath  given  to 
the  sons  of  men  to  be  exercised  in  it.  The  travail  does  not 
perhaps  consist  so  much  in  the  occupation  of  contemplating 
and  inquiring  into  the  government  of  the  world,  as,  according 
to  ver.  9,  in  the  useless  anxieties  and  exhaustive  labours  to 
which  men  subject  themselves  in  that  they  desire,  and  yet  are 
unable  to  effect  anything,  because  everything  comes  to  pass  as 
it  has  been  fixed  and  predetermined  by  God.  On  this  Luther 
observes  :  "  they  who  wish  to  anticipate  God's  appointed  hour, 
weary  themselves  in  vain,  and  reap  only  anxiety  and  trouble 
of  heart."  The  faith  which  looks  upward  to  God  and  leaves 
all  to  Him,  which  says  :  "  why  should  I  then  distress  myself? 
Heart,  why  art  thou  cast  down  ?  Why  dost  thou  trouble  and 
pain  thyself  ?  Trust  in  God  thy  Lord  who  made  all  things  !" 
delivers  us  from  this  torment.  But  in  this  life  even  faith  is 
liable  to  become  weary  and  to  change,  and  no  sooner  does  the 
believer  begin  to  be  negligent  therein,  than  he  receives  his  share 
of  the  travail  to  which  all  the  children  of  men  are  condemned, 
in  a  word,  he  begins  to  exhaust  himself  with  cares  and  toils. 
And  in  truth,  it  is  good  for  him  to  have  his  share  thereof 
Tlie  travail  is  a  wholesome  discipline.  By  such  means  the 
children  of  men  are  constrained  to  humble  themselves,  and  to 
feel  their  own  insufficiency.      Care  and  toil  begin,  when  faith 

Und  finden  weder  Hiilf  noch  Rath 

Ob  wir  gleich  sorgen  friih  und  spat : 

So  ist  das  iinser  Trost  allein 

Dass  wir  Zusammen  insgemein 

Dich  aurufen  O  treuer  Gott 

Um  Kettung  aus  der  Angst  und  Noth," 

Compare  also  the  remarks  of  Cartwright — "  Non  equidem  ut  ahjecto  labor- 
andi  studio  desidia;  et  ignaviae  se  dedat :  sed  ne  ita  consilio  et  labori  confidat, 
ut  Dei  opem  et  benedictionem  precibus  impetrandam  neglectui  habeat.  Qui  ut 
tempora  et  temporum  momenta  ia  sua  manu  et  potestate  comprehensa  habet, 
ita  ilhi  precibus  suorum  flexus,  eorundem  commodo  dispensat." 


CHAPTER  III.  105 

and  prayer  cease  :  lout  out  of  care  and  toil  we  rise  again  to 
faith  and  prayer.  When  the  heart  is  emphatically  broken  by 
the  sore  travail  to  which  God  subjects  the  children  of  men,  it 
obeys  the  injunction — "0  troubled  soul,  betake  thyself  to  God." 
Ver.  11.  He  maketh  everything  beautiful  in  his  time,  eter- 
nity also  he  hath  set  in  their  heart,  so  that  no  man  can  find 
out  the'work  that  God  maketh  from  the  beginning  to  the  end. 
The  principal  thought  of  the  verse  is  contained  in  the  last 
words  :  "  man  cannot  find  out  the  work  of  God  from  begin- 
ning to  end ;"  which  some  interpret  to  mean — "  man  cannot 
perfectly  comprehend  God's  doings ;"  but  which  may  be  more 
appropriately  explained — "  To  man  the  knowledge  of  the 
future  is  altogether  denied  ;" — as  Luther  has  it — "  neither 
beginning  nor  end."  Inasmuch  as,  apart  from  revelations 
concerning  the  future  which  God  communicates  to  his  ser- 
vants the  prophets  (Amos  iii.  7),  man,  as  such,  is  and  will 
remain  destitute  of  this  knowledge,  to  the  end  that  he  may 
learn  to  humble  himself  before  God,  it  is  impossible  for  him 
to  order  his  doings  with  judgment,  and  he  is  consequently 
directed  in  all  cases  to  trust  not  in  himself  but  in  God.  The 
following  remarks  are  found  in  the  Berleburger  Bible  :  "  The 
conclusion  which  Solomon  wishes  to  draw  is,  that  no  man  can 
so  order  and  arrange  his  afiairs  for  the  future  as  that  he  shall 
be  thoroughly  happy  in  this  world,  but  must  leave  them  to 
time  and  destiny  ;  and  should  he  seek  by  his  own  energies  to 
secure  to  himself  the  object  of  his  desires,  his  efforts  will  be 
useless,  and  at  the  end  there  will  be  still  no  other  course  open 
to  him  than  to  commend  himself  and  his  affairs  to  the  fatherly 
care  of  God."  A  twofold  subsidiary  thought  precedes  this 
main  idea  of  the  passage.  The  first  is — "  He  maketh  every- 
thing beautiful  in  his  time."  That  God's  rule  is  one  with  a 
fixed  aim  and  method  is  here  expressly  mentioned,  in  order 
to  remove  as  far  away  as  possible  the  notion  of  an  almighty 
arbitrary  ruler — a  notion  which  might  easily  take  its  rise  in 
the  fact  that  the  method  of  divine  government  is  so  con- 
cealed from  our  eyes  that  we  cannot  tell  beforehand  what 
He  will  do.  According  to  the  accents  no''  is  connected  with 
inya.  J.  D.  IVIichaelis  remarks — "  The  words  '  beautiful  in  his 
time,'  according  to  the  accentuation,  are  closely  connected  to- 
gether.    And,  in  view  of  that  which  goes  before,  what  other 


lOG  CHAPTER  III. 

meaning  c'an  be  attached  to  them,  than  the  following? — 
among  the  things  mentioned  in  verses  2-8,  there  are,  it  is  true, 
many  that  are  unpleasant  and  evil,  but  at  the  time  when  God 
sends  them  they  are  not  only  good  but  even  right  beautiful." 
These  things  which  in  and  for  themselves  are  evil,  must  con- 
sequently occur  in  such  a  connection  that  they  shall  further 
the  good  purposes  of  God.  Only  at  the  fit  seasop  are  they 
beautiful,  and  then  they  form  an  indispensable  link  in  the 
chain  of  this  world's  events.  Accordingly,  that  is  not  a  bad 
saying  of  Raschi,  that  "  at  a  good  season  to  reward  good  works 
is  beautiful :  and  at  an  evil  season  to  punish  evil  works  is 
also  beautiful."  The  second  accessory  thought  is  contained  in 
the  words — "  Eternity  also  hath  he  set  in  their  heart."  In  the 
verse  considered  as  an  organic  whole  this  thought  occupies  the 
following  position  : — God  makes  everything  beautiful  in  his 
time,  but  man  is  unable  to  see  it  notwithstanding  that  God 
hath  set  eternity  in  his  heart.  "^^niD  is  to  be  taken  in  its  usual 
signification  of  "  without"  (which "occurs  moreover  offcener  than 
the  Lexicons  allow),  "without  that  not  finds,"*  which  is  as 
much  as  to  say,  with  this  exception  or  with  the  exception, 
that  not  finds*  how  such  knowledge  of  the  future  doings  of 
God  seems  notwithstanding  to  follow  from  the  fact  that  in 
the  heart  of  man,  and  specially  in  the  heart  of  his  own  people, 
He  hath  set  eternity  ;  for  apparently  this  latter  gift  stands  to 
the  former  in  the  relation  of  the  particular  to  the  general.  K 
God's  nature  is  accessible  to  man,  surely,  one  would  think, 
God's  doings  will  not  remain  hidden  from  him,  especially  as 
they  follow  a  fixed  plan.  The  commentary  to  the  words,  "  and 
he  set  eternity  in  their  heart,"  (Rambach :  notitiam  del  aeterni), 
is  furnished  by  Psalm  xc.  1-5,  where  the  fleeting  character  of 
our  earthly  life  is  contrasted  with  the  eternity  of  God :  com- 
pare especially  ver.  2 — "  Before  the  mountains  were  brought 
forth,  or  ever  thou  hadst  formed  the  earth  and  the  world,  even 
from  everlasting  to  everlasting  thou  art  God."  And  then  we 
must  compare  also  Romans  i.  20 — to,  ao^ara  durou  ditl  zrlffius 
xo(ff/,ou  roTg  rroiriiiaei  voo\j/j,iva  xadooarai  r\ri  didiog  uurov  b'jvuaig  xal 
SiioTYis.  Accoi-ding  to  the  Apostle's  words,  man  has  an  intel- 
lectual intuition  of  God's  eternal  power  and  Godhead,  or  as  it 
is  here  expressed,  of  the  eternity  which  is  manifested  and 
*  I  have  rendered  the  German  literally  oAwe  dass  nichtJiiKktr—Tii. 


CHAPTER  III.  107 

developed  in  the  words  of  creation.  So  far  as  man  springs 
from  God,  his  eternity  is  inseparably  bound  up  with  that  of 
God  (chap.  xii.  7).  It  is  man's  highest  privilege  to  discern 
something  eternal  behind  the  transitory  objects  of  the  present 
world,  and  to  be  able  to  cling  closely  to  this  eternal  substance. 
And  ina'smuch  as  this  eternity  of  God  is  set  in  his  heart,  it 
would  appear  reasonable  to  expect  that  the  knowledge  of  the 
doings  of  God  in  time  should  be  attainable  by  him.  But  at 
this  point  man  stumbles  all  at  once  upon  bars  and  bolts,  and 
finds  that  God  has  reserved  something  for  himself  alone.  Many 
interpreters  explain  D^iy  by  "world;"  others  by  "philosophy," 
or  by  "worldly  mind."  But  usage  is  against  this.  D^y  is 
never  used  in  the  entire  Old  Testament  in  any  other  sense 
than  of  "unmeasured  time,"  and  of  "eternity:"  and  in  this 
book  above  all  is  it  employed  in  the  signification  "  eternity," 
(see  chap.  i.  4,  ii.  16,  iii.  14,  ix.  6,  xii.  5;  "long  time,"  chap. 
i.  10).  There  is  also  the  additional  objection  that  this  expla- 
nation of  the  term  gives  no  appropriate  sense.  The  words, 
"  except  that,  &c."  would  then  be  unsuitable.  For  the  setting 
of  the  world  in  the  heart  of  man,  does  not  render  it  in  any 
way  probable  that  he  will  be  able  to  command  a  knowledge 
of  the  ways  of  God  :  it  may  easily,  however,  and  with  justice, 
be  regarded  as  something  exceptional,  and  so  to  speak  abnor- 
mal, that  man,  in  whom  there  dwells  the  knowledge  of  the 
divine  nature,  should  be  refused  the  knowledge  of  the  di\dne 
works. — In  reference  to  the  main  idea  of  the  verse,  Luther 
observes,  "Man  cannot  hit  upon  the  work,  which  God  does;  that 
is,  no  man  can  know  beforehand  the  hour  which  is  ordained 
above  ;  and  however  much  he  may  plague  himself,  he  can 
never  know  when  it  will  begin  or  come  to  an  end. — It  behoves 
us  therefore  to  say,  0  Lord,  to  thee  belongs  the  supreme  direc- 
tion, in  thine  hand  it  rests  entirely,  to  order  and  settle  every- 
thing in  the  future  :  under  thy  control  is  my  life  and  my 
death  ;  as  I  need  my  life,  so  long  thou  givest  it  and  not  a 
moment  longer.  And  inasmuch  as  in  respect  of  them,  no  care 
and  thought  is  of  any  use,  I  will  act  thus  in  regard  to  other 
gifts,  using  them  as  they  come ;  care  and  anxiety  I  will  cast 
to  the  winds,  and  commit  the  rest  to  thee." 

Ver.  12.  I  know  that  there  is  no  good  in  them,  but  that  one 
rejoice  and  do  good  in  his  life.     Seeing  that  man  is  not  the 


108  CHAPTER  in. 

lord  of  his  o^Yn  destiny,  it  follows  that  his  best  course  is  to 
let  God  act  and  arrange,  and,  in  place  of  caring  for  the  future, 
to  enjoy  the  present,  instead  of  labouring  and  scheming  with 
a  mind  ever  restless  and  ever  looking  for  results,  to  do  quietly 
what  is  given  him  to  do  *  The  Hebrew  words  which  we  have 
rendered  "  in  (or  with)  them,"  that  is  "  men,"  (dhs  ''22  of  ver. 
10),  are  rendered  by  several  commentators,  most  recently  by 
Stier — "therein,  m  illis  rebus  omnibus."  But  that  the  former 
is  the  correct  explanation  is  evident  from  chap.  ii.  2-i,  D^X3 
31t£)  px,  and  from  chap.  viii.  15,  "it  is  not  good"  ms^,  where 
for  the  2,  in  this  passage,  h  is  employed.  Joy  forms  the  con- 
trast to  restless  care  and  useless  worry  :  compare  Matthew  vi. 
3-i:  /AJ5  ouv  [npiHiVYidiTi  s/g  rrjv  avpiov.  7;  yap  avpiov  /j,spt/j,vrj6ii  rd  iauTrjg. 
dpy.srov  ryj  Tj/j^spcf,  tj  zaxia  avrl^g-  Luther  observes :  "  this  is  all  the 
better  understood  from  what  goes  before :  he  means  to  say, 
that  because  so  many  hindrances  and  mishaps  in  their  busi- 
ness befal  even  those  who  are  industrious  and  who  wish  to 
act  well  and  truly,  and  because  there  is  so  much  misfortune 
in  the  world,  there  is  nothing  better  than  cheerfully  to  use 
what  God  puts  into  our  hands  at  the  present  moment,  and  not 
vex  and  distress  ourselves  with  questions  and  cares  about  the 
future."  Not  to  be  careful,  but  to  dare  to  trust  in  the  Al- 
mighty, and  consequently  to  be  able  to  rejoice,  is  a  precious 
privilege  bestowed  by  God  on  the  children  of  men  (Psalm 
xxxvi.  8),  of  which  they  should  take  care  not  to  rob  them- 
selves by  their  own  wickedness.  Doing  good  should  go  hand 
in  hand  with  a  cheerful  and  thankful  enjoyment  of  the  bless- 
ings which  the  moment  brings,  in  order  that  thus  we  may  run 
in  the  way  commanded  by  God,  may  preserve  a  good  con- 
science, which  is  the  necessary  condition  of  all  joy,  and  not 
shut  but  rather  open  the  entrance  for  God's  goodness  and 
grace.  To  the  "  do  good"  of  this  verse,  corresponds  the  "  fear 
God  and  keep  his  -commands"  of  chap.  xii.  13.  Following 
Luther's  example,  several  adopt  the  explanation,  "Do  good, 
act  kindly,  to  thyself"  Usage  however  decides  against  this 
view  :  and,  in  opposition  to  usage,  such  supposed  parallel  pas- 


*  Rambach  remarks  :  "Cum  itaque  tanta  sit  rerum  humanarum  vanitas,  tanta 
hominis  circa  eas  impotentia,  ut  hactenus  ostensum,  inde  ego  certum  explora- 
tumquc  habeo,  etc." 


CHAPTER  III.  109 

sages  as  chap.  ii.  24,  iii.  22,  v.  17,  18,  are  adduced  to  no  pur- 
pose. Compare  Psalm  xxxiv.  15:  "  cease  from  evil  and  do 
good  :  seek  peace  and  pursue  it ;"  Psalm  xxxvii.  3,  "Trust  in 
the  Lord  and  do  good  ;"  and  Isaiah  xxxviii.  8,  where  Heze- 
kiah  says — "  I  have  done  that  which  is  good  in  thine  eyes." 

Ver.  1 3.  And  every  man  that  eats  and  drinks  and  sees  good 
in  all  his  labour,  that  is  a  gift  of  God.  The  word  m  refers  to 
the  whole  sentence.  Not  only  is  it  a  gift  of  God  that  any 
man's  sufferings  are  averted,  but  also  that,  despite  suffering, 
whether  present  or  threatened,  he  should  be  cheerful.  It  is 
in  the  power  of  God  alone  alike  to  bring  us  happiness  and  to 
quiet  the  heart  and  free  it  from  cares.  Our  heart  is  as  little 
in  our  own  power  as  is  our  destiny. ''''  The  capability  of  en- 
joying divine  blessings  is  called  in  chap.  ii.  24-26,  a  gift  of 
God,  because  the  heart  of  the  natural  man  is  in  bondage  to 
avarice :  liere  the  same  thing  is  affirmed  on  the  ground  that 
it  is  bound  by  care  with  such  bonds  as  human  strength  can 
never  loosen.  After  the  words  just  quoted  Luther  remarks 
further:  "but  that  is  just  the  art  to  be  acquired:  that  we 
are  able  to  do  it  at  all  is  the  gift  of  God.  I  myself,  says 
Solomon,  can  teach  and  tell  this  to  others,  but  I  can  give  it 
neither  to  myself  nor  to  others  :  the  heart  capable  of  doing 
this,  God  alone  can  bestow.  Solomon  thus  teaches  us,  firstly, 
what  we  shall  do,  and  secondly,  where  we  are  to  get  the  ability 
to  be  thus  minded  and  thus  to  act :  that  is,  he  teaches  us, 
that  we  with  our  own  thoughts,  anxieties  and  cares,  can  make 
nothing  better  or  other  than  it  is  :  our  part  is  to  pray  with 
all  earnestness,  and  call  upon  God  that  He  may  deliver  us  from 
sadness  and  ■  useless  cares,  and  give  us  a  calm  and  believing 
heart.'' 

Ver.  1 4.  7  know  that  tvhatsoever  God  doeth  it  shall  he  for 
ever  :  nothing  can  he  put  to  it  mid  nothing  can  he  taken  from 
it ;  and  God  doeth  it  that  they  should  fear  hefore  Him.  No 
one  can  frustrate  his  plans  :  no  one  can  hinder  their  fulfil- 
ment. Wherefore,  "  it  behoves  thee  to  trust  the  Lord,  if  it 
shall  go  well  with  thee.     Witli  care,  dejection  and  self-inflicted 

■*  Cartwright  says :  "  Quod  non  ita  intelligi  velim,  acsi  suo  aut  merito  ant 
arbitrio  hoc  illis  obveniret ;  quando  quidem  quisquis  est,  qui  edendo  et  bibendo 
ex  labore  suo  commode  vivit,  illud  ipsum  (quantulumcunque  hominibus  videa- 
tur)  dei  est  gratuitum  bonum. 


1  1  0  CHAPTER  III. 

pains  thoii  canst  gain  nought  from  God  ; — he  must  be  sought 
unto."  Compare  Isaiah  xlvi.  1 0,  where  God  says — "  my  coun- 
sel shall  stand  fast,  and  all  my  will,  will  I  accomplish  :"  Psalm 
xxxiii.  11,  "The  counsel  of  the  Lord  standeth  for  ever,  the 
thoughts  of  His  heart  to  all  generations  :"  and  further,  Psalm 
cxxvii, — "  it  is  in  vain  for  you  to  rise  up  early,  to  sit  up  late, 
to  eat  the  bread  of  sorrow ;  thus  giveth  He  it  to  His  beloved 
in  sleep."  In  face  of  the  eternal  decrees  of  God,  it  is  to  no 
purpose  that  we  resolve  to  carry  any  undertaking  through  : 
our  part  is  to  cast  ourselves  as  a  child  into  our  Father's  arms, 
and  entreat  Him  to  have  pity  on  us.  Of  God's  counsels, 
however,  it  is  not  true  to  say  with  the  poet,  that,  "  Bound  by 
the  brazen  laws  of  eternity,  men  accomplish  the  cycles  of  their 
existence."  God's  counsels  are  undoubtedly  unalterable  from 
without ;  no  creature,  let  him  commence  as  he  will,  can  effect 
an  encroachment  upon  them  :  but  they  do  not  stand  above 
God  himself  as  a  foreign  power,  as  a  kind  of  fate  ;  so  that  it 
is  not  our  prayers,  but  our  own  workings  that  are  useless. 
"  And  God  doeth  it  that  they  should  fear  before  Him." 
Driven  by  sheer  necessity,  and  feeling  their  absolute  weak- 
ness, they  cry  out,  in  the  words  of  Psalm  cxxiii.  1-2,  "unto 
thee  lift  I  up  mine  eyes,  O  thou  that  dwellest  in  the  heavens 
Behold  as  the  eyes  of  servants  look  unto  the  hand  of  their 
masters,  and  as  the  eyes  of  a  maiden  unto  the  hand  of  her 
mistress,  so  our  eyes  look  unto  the  Lord  God  until  that  he 
have  mercy  upon  us."  Luther's  remarks  on  this  subject  are  : 
"  But  why  does  God  afflict  men  with  such  countless,  varied, 
and  gi-eat  cares  of  government,  of  household,  of  trade,  of  busi- 
ness, compelling  them  to  run  and  race,  and  ride  and  drive,  and 
travel  by  land  and  water,  and  often  to  risk  their  lives,  whilst 
He  has  kept  in  His  own  hands  the  right  moment  when  any 
thing  shall  take  place,  and  all  the  rest  is  in  vain  ?  The  answer 
.is  :  in  order  that  men  may  fear  Him,  that  they  might  keep  his 
first  commandment,  that  He  may  remain  Lord  and  God,  and 
that  aU  may  recognise  Him  to  be  God  :  further,  that  we  may 
all  learn  thorough  and  hearty  obedience  and  humility,  and 
begin  nothing  trusting  to  our  own  wisdom,  thoughts,  abihties ; 
as  St  Paul  admonishes  the  Romans  in  chap.  ix.  16,  saying, — 
"  it  is  not  in  him  that  wiUeth,  nor  in  him  that  runneth,  but 
in  God,  who  sheweth  mercy."     Whoever   beheveth  that  the 


CHAPTER  III.  Ill 

aforementioned  things  are  not  in  his  own  power,  will  not  un- 
dertake anything  on  his  own  responsibility,  will  not  worry  and 
vex  himself  too  much,  but  let  God  rule  in  all  things  :  what 
God  gives,  he  uses,  what  God  withholds  he  dispenses  with  ; 
if  God  takes  aught  away  he  endures  it  patiently.  In  this 
way  God  maintains  fully  His  own  divine  honour,  and  at  the 
same  time  restrains  us  from  arrogance,  inasmuch  as  no  man. 
then  can  say — I  am  king,  prince,  lord,  manager,  governor, 
learned  or  otherwise,  but  must  always  confess  that  God  also  is 
Lord.  That  is  the  true  fear  of  God,  that  is  the  highest,  holiest 
and  most  suitable  service  of  God,  the  service  to  which  Solomon, 
David,  and  all  the  prophets  earnestly  summon  men,  namely  to 
believe  and  be  certain  that  God  sees  all  our  doings,  and  works 
all  in  all,  (Ephesians  i.  11.) 

Ver.  15.  That  which  hath  been  is  now  and  that  which 
is  to  be  hath  already  been,  and  God  seeketh  the  persecuted. 
The  commentary  to  these  words  is  furnished  by  the  parallel 
passages  :  Psalm  cxxxix.  16:"  Thine  eyes  did  see  me  when  I 
was  yet  imperfect,  and  in  thy  book  were  they  all  written, 
the  days  which  should  yet  be,  and  none  of  them  was  there  ;" 
on  which  I  have  remarked  in  my  Commentary  to  the  Book 
of  Psalms,  "  if  our  whole  existence  from  beginning  to  end  is 
pre-ordained  by  God,  how  is  it  possible  that  anything  should 
ever  befal  us,  with  which  His  hand  was  not  concerned,  which 
He  did  not  see,  and  which  in  His  own  good  time  He  did 
not  help  on  1  A  further  illustrative  passage  is  Job  xiv.  5, 
"  His  days  are  determined,  the  number  of  his  months  with 
thee."  What  was  (or  became)  is  already,  existed  already  in 
the  divine  counsels  before  it  was  openly  manifested,  and 
hence  we  learn,  that  God's  decrees  decide  everything,  that  in 
all  the  circumstances  and  ways  of  life  we  should  look  up  to 
God,  and  that  we  may  not  look  to  our  fellowmen,  who  are 
the  companions  of  our  weakness,  and  who,  however  much 
they  may  puff  themselves,  and  however  great  pretensions  they 
may  make,  are,  in  truth,  but  instruments  in  the  hand  of  pro- 
vidence. The  word  is  refers  us  to  the  timeless,  the  eternal 
nature  of  that  which  God  pre-ordains, — which  timeless  ele- 
ment is  able  to  represent  itself  in  the  form  of  the  present. 
Knobel's  explanation,  "  it  is  already,  i.  e.,  it  is  now,"  is  inad- 
missible, for  the  simple  reason  that  -ia3  cannot  possibly  mean 


112  CHAPTER  III. 

"already."  '  The  third  member  of  the  sentence,  "and  God 
seeks  the  persecuted,"  falls  into  harmony  with  the  other  two, 
so  soon  as  it  is  perceived  that  the  reference  they  contain  to 
the  divine  preordination  is  intended  as  a  consolation  :  "  No- 
thing can  happen  to  us  which  He  has  not  sent,  and  which 
will  not  conduce  to  our  blessedness."  Of  the  accuracy  of  the 
translation  given  of  the  third  clause  of  the  sentence  there  can 
be  no  doubt.*  Just  in  the  same  way  is  seeking  ascribed  in 
ver.  6  to  God,  who  takes  compassion  on  his  forlorn  and 
wretched  children.  In  the  only  place  where  it  occurs  besides 
here,  namely,  in  Lamentations  v.  5,  the  Niphal  form  of  iTi 
has  the  signification  "  be  persecuted."  The  people  of  God 
there  give  utterance  to  the  complaint  iJSTij,  "we  are  perse- 
cuted," and  the  Niphal  form  in  itself  would  scarcely  allow  of 
being  otherwise  interpreted.  This  explanation  is  further  con- 
firmed by  verses  16-17,  where  we  find  exactly  the  same 
thought.  To  those  verses  this  15th  verse  forms  a  link  of 
transition.  Following  the  Vulgate  (Deus  instaurat  quod  ahiit) 
most  modern  interpreters  assume  that  «n-i3  signifies  "  the 
past,"  and  that  the  idea  is,  "the  phenomena  and  events  of  life 
keep  repeating  themselves  in  a  fixed  circle."  This  idea,  how- 
ever, would  do  violence  to  the  whole  connection,  and  be- 
sides, that  t]ii:  cannot  signify  "  the  past,"  is  as  certain  as 
that  iTi  means  "  to  persecute  "  and  notliing  else.  Following 
the  correct  view,  the  Berleburger  Bible  remarks  :  "  Therefore 
thou  shouldst  not  so  take  ofience  thereat  as  to  allow  thyself 
on  its  account  to  be  drawn  away  from  the  highest  good. 
For  God  will  not  leave  unpunished  the  injustice  and  the  vio- 
lence which  are  done  to  those  that  fear  Him."  We  have  in 
this  passage  the  Old  Testament  basis  for  the  words  of  our 
Lord  m  Matthew  v.  10.  :  fiazdpioi  o'l  hhicayixhoi  ivizsv  dizaiosuvyig 
on  avrojv  ssriv  rj  (SasrAila  raiv  ovpavuv. 

Verses  16-17.  These  two  verses  comfort  the  people  of  God 
whilst  gToaning  beneath  the  unrighteous  oppression  of  worldly 

*  It  may  be  found  even  in  the  Septuagint,  •which  has  rightly  conveyed  the 
meaning  of  this  verse,  so  often  misunderstood  by  more  recent  interpreters :  rb 
yivo/Msvov  Tidrj  ssri  xai  om  rov  yivi66a.i  rjdrj  ysyovs,  xa/  6  dihg  ^rirriffsi  rhv 
biuMfMivov :  the  same  may  be  said  also  of  the  Syriac  and  of  the  Targum,  Deus 
requiret  obscurum  et  pauperem  dc  manibus  improbi,  qui  persecutus  fuerit  eura. 


CHAPTER  III.  113 

powers  by  pointing  them  to  the  divine  judgments  which  are 
shortly  to  be  executed.  Ver.  1  G.  A  ml  fuTther  saw  I  under  the 
sun.  In  the  previous  ver.  allusion  is  made  to  the  overthrow 
of  the  people  of  God  and  the  triumph  of  the  world  :  here  to 
the  misapplication  of  authority  to  purposes  of  tyranny  and 
oppression.  The  place  of  judgment,  wickedness  is  there  :  the 
seat  of  judgment  is  the  place  whence,  by  divine  appointment 
and  legal  sanction,  justice  should  be  administered,  for  Rulers 
and  Judges  govern  and  give  sentence  in  God's  stead  (2  Chro- 
nicles xix.  6-7).  notr  signifies  always  "  thither,"  never  "  there:" 
wickedness  moves  thitherwards,  takes  possession  of  the  place. 
The  wickedness  is  that  of  the  heathen  authorities.  Parallel 
to  this  is  Psalm  xciv.  20,  where,  in  view  of  the  deluge  of 
Chaldeans  which  overwhelmed  the  people  of  God,  they  ask — • 
"  Is  the  throne  of  iniquity  in  fellowship  with  thee,  which 
frameth  misery  by  a  law  ?" — misery,  which  is  the  result  of 
violence  and  wickedness.  In  Psalm  cxxv.,  which  like  the 
present  book  was  composed  during  the  time  of  the  Persian 
dominion,  it  is  said  (verses  2-3) :  "  The  mountains  are  round 
about  Jerusalem,  and  the  Lord  is  round  about  his  people  from 
henceforth  even  for  ever.  For  the  sceptre  of  wickedness 
shall  not  rest  on  the  lot  of  the  rio-hteous,  lest  the  righteous 
put  forth  their  hands  to  iniquity."  From  beneath  the  yoke 
of  their  heathen  oppressors  will  the  people  of  God  once  again 
rise  to  the  glorious  liberty  of  children.  The  place  of  righte- 
ousness, the  wnched  is  there.  In  Daniel  iv.  27,  Daniel  says  to 
Nebuchadnezzar — "  break  off  thy  sins  by  righteousness,  and 
thine  iniquities  by  showing  mercy  to  the  poor."  The  righte- 
ous and  the  ivicked  God  vAll  judge,  (ver.  17).  Here  the 
righteous  man  is  Israel  :  the  wicked  is  the  Heathen :  and 
the  ungodly  in  Israel  as  being  degenerate  are  left  unnoticed. 
By  destiny,  and  at  the  core,  Israel  is  the  nation  of  the  upright. 
Numbers  xxiii.  10.  In  Habakkuk  i.  13,  it  is  written  in  re- 
ference to  the  Chaldean  catastrophe  :  "wherefore  lookest 
thou  upon  them  that  deal  treacherously,  and  boldest  thy  tong-ue 
when  the  wicked  devoureth  him  that  is  more  righteous  than 
he  ?"  i.  e.,  him  that  stands  opposed  to  the  evil  one,  as  being 
righteous.  On  this  passage  compare  Delitzsch,  who  considers 
the  merely  relative  view  of  righteousness  untenable.  The  judg- 
ment of  the  wicked  may  be  looked  for  with  the  greater  conli- 


114  CHAPTER  III. 

dence,  when  they  are  found  occupying  the  seat  of  law  and  justice, 
thence  practising  wickedness,  and  misusing  their  authority 
for  injustice.  The  tribunal  of  justice  is  of  God  (Deuteronomy 
i.  17);  whoever  appears  there  appears  before  God  (Exodus 
xxi.  6,  xxii.  7-8.)  For  this  reason  it  is  impossible  that  God 
should  leave  unpunished  the  misuse  of  authority  :  a  thought 
which  is  further  carried  out  in  Psalm  Ixxxii.  Our  duty  is  to 
wait  patiently  for  this  judgment  of  God's.  The  more  shame- 
lessly and  wantonly  their  heathen  rulers  abuse  their  authority, 
the  more  certain  may  we  be  that  it  will  come,  and  the  more 
cheerfully  may  we  wait.  In  2  Thessalonians  i.  5,  Paul  describes 
the  persecutions  and  oppressions  of  believers  as  an  hhnyiia  rng 
di-Auiag  xplesuc  roij  diov,  "  a  notice,  a  proof,  that  God  will  shortly 
interpose." — For  there  is  a  time  therefor  every  desire  and  about 
every  work,  with  God,  Psalm  Iviii.  12:"  and  man  says.  Verily, 
the  righteous  has  a  reward :  verily,  God  judgeth  on  the 
earth."  Koheleth  points  as  it  were  with  lifted  finger  away 
from  the  earth,  the  seat  of  unrighteousness,  to  heaven.  "  There  " 
is  employed  in  the  same  way  in  Genesis  xi.,  ix.  24. 

Ver.  18.  The  introductoiy  words,  "I  said  in  mine  heart," 
set  this  verse  on  the  same  footing  as  ver.  17,  and  show  that 
the  question  raised  in  ver.  1  6,  is  here  examined  from  another 
point  of  view.  The  problem  is  this — -How  is  the  singular 
fact  of  the  prosperity  of  wickedness  to  be  explained  and  justi- 
fied ?  The  first  answer  is  given  in  ver.  1 7,  and  the  consider- 
ation is  brought  forward,  that  this  prosperity  is  only  temporal, 
and  that  by  God's  judgments  the  disturbed  order  will  in  due 
time  be  estabhshed.  But  this  by  itself  is  not  fully  satisfactory. 
There  is  the  further  and  more  difficult  task  of  showing  why 
the  righteous,  why  God's  own  people,  are  visited  with  temporal 
misfortune.  This  is  done  here.  The  cross  of  the  righteous  is 
disguised  mercy.  It  serves  to  purify  them :  specially  does 
it  help  to  purge  them  altogether  from  pride,  and  to  lead  them 
to  humihty.  Because  of  the  children  of  men,  do  these  things 
happen  :  for  their  sake  does  wickedness  sit  in  the  seat  of 
judgment,  and  the  wicked  one  in  the  place  of  righteousness. 
Koheleth  speaks  of  the  "children  of  men"  in  general,  but  has 
specially  in  view  the  children  of  Israel.  We  find  a  case 
exactly  similar  to  this  in  Psalm  xxxvi.  7-8.  This  designation 
is  chosen  because  it  expresses  human  baseness,  the  consciousness 


CHAPTER  III.  1 1  5 

of  which,  according  to  the  close  of  the  verse,  is  intended  to  be 
awakened  by  the  cross.  Knobel's  explanation  is  as  follows — 
"  I  thought  in  my  mind  on  the  relation  of  the  children  of 
men."  But  mm  hv  occurs  in  this  book  as  »well  as  in  the 
Chaldee  portion  of  the  Book  Daniel,  only  in  the  sense  of 
"Because  of,  on  account  of;"  and  then  further  the  accents  are 
decisive  against  this  view.*  The  general  and  vague  expression 
— "  for  the  sake  of  the  children  of  men,"  is  more  precisely 
defined  to  mean — "in  order  to  purify  them;"  and  then 
amongst  the  evils  from  which  they  are  to  be  purged,  special 
mention  is  made  of  pric^e.  "113  signifies  properly  "  to  separate," 
(Ezekiel  xx.  38,)  and  then  "to  purify."  It  occurs  in  a  sense 
precisely  correspondent  to  that  of  this  passage  in  Daniel  xi. 
35 — "and  some  of  them  of  understanding  shall  fall  to  try 
them,  and  to  purge  and  to  make  them  white  for  the  time  of  the 
end."  "nn  stands  there  between  fin^  and  p^  "  to  make  white,  to 
make  clear."  The  "  time  of  the  end,"  is  the  period  when  these 
visitations  of  God  shall  terminate.  That  such  an  end  must  of 
necessity  come,  is  here  taken  for  granted,  in  agreement  with 
ver.  1 7.  The  process  of  purification  is  only  a  temporary  one. 
"ni  is  employed  also  in  Daniel  xii.  1 0,  "  many  shall  be  purified 
and  made  white  and  tried  : " — Ch.  B.  Michaelis — per  tyranni- 
cas  illas  afflictiones  ex  divina  sapientia  et  directione  a  vitiis 
suis  purgabuntur  et  a  maculis  albabuntur  et  velut  metalla 
excoquentur  midti,  sell,  intelligeydes  quodj  sequitur.  Hitzig  is 
disposed  to  give  "n3  here  the  meaning  of  "  try,"  but  entirely 
without  grounds  that  will  bear  investigation,  and  contrary  to  the 
remarkable  agreement  between  this  verse  and  the  parallel 
passage  in  Daniel,  in  in  chap.  ix.  1,  is  not  to  be  brought  into 
comparison.  It  is  rather  a  cognate  of  the  word  "IX3.  And  in 
order  that  they  may  see  that  in  themselves  they  are  beasts. 
That  is  the  result  to  be  gained  by  the  purification.  Substan- 
tially parallel  is  Job  xxxvi.  8,  9,  where  it  is  said  concerning 
the  sufferings  of  the  righteous — "  and  if  they  be  bound  in  fet- 
ters and  be  holden  in  cords  of  afiiiction  ;  then  he  showeth 
them  their    works,  and  their  transgression  that  they  have 

*  Rambach :  qui  cum  consequentibus  connectunt  habent  accentus  faventes, 
secundum  quos  verba  priora  :  dixi  in  corde  meo,  per  majorem  interstinctionem 
u  seqq.  separata,  signum  dicti,  reliqua  vero  dictum  ipsum  continent. 


IIQ  CHAPTER  III. 

become  proud."  Among  the  stains  from  wLich  we  are  to  be 
cleansed  by  means  of  the  cross,  pride  is  the  worst.  r\Mrh  is 
not  so  much  "  that  he  may  see,"  as  "  that  they  may  see,"  being 
convinced  by  facts,  by  stern  and  terrible  realities.  Here  it  is 
not  as  in  Psalm  Ixxii.  22,  the  hehaviour  of  beasts  that  is  refer- 
red to,  but  their  fate,  that  which  happens  to  them,  just  as  in 
Habakkuk  i.  1 4,  where  the  community  of  the  Lord  complains 

"  thou  makest  men  like  the  fishes  of  the  sea,  like  the  beasts, 

that  have  no  ruler  over  them."  Catastrophes  in  which  men 
are  treated  as  beasts,  are  well  fitted  to  teach  them  their 
nothino-ness.  Through  the  fall  man  received  the  disposition 
and  feelings  of  an  animal.  In  righteous  retribution,  therefore, 
and  to  cure  him  of  the  pride  which  occasioned  his  fall,  the 
fate  of  mere  animals  befals  him,  and  he  is  subjected  to  death 
like  the  beasts.  But  not  content  eVen  with  this,  God  allows 
catastrophes  to  befal  His  people  from  time  to  time,  which 
bring  men  into  still  closer  relation  to  the  beasts,  r^i^n  stands 
for  the  verb,  suhst.  "are."  Dn^,  "in  themselves,"  apart  from 
God's  protecting  care,  and  when  He  does  not  extend  to  them 
his  helping  hand  ;  which  is  as  much  as  to  say,  that  they  them- 
selves are  as  powerless  to  aid  and  protect  themselves,  as  are 
the  unreasoning  beasts.  When  they  see  this,  a  thing  which 
their  pride  causes  them  constantly  to  forget  again,  they  turn 
to  God  saying — "  Asshur  shall  not  save  us  :  we  will  not  ride 
on  horses ;  neither  will  we  say  any  more  to  the  work  of  our 
hands,  our  God  !  for  in  thee  the  fatherless  find  mercy.  Then 
comes  forth  the  divine  answer  :  "I  will  heal  their  backslid- 
ing, I  will  love  them  freely,"  (ver.  5  ff)  For,  as  he  goes  on 
in  verse  1 9  to  say,  such  is  actually  the  state  of  the  case :  as 
a  part  of  mere  nature,  in  contrast  to  God,  and  apart  from  the 
bond  uniting  him  with  his  creator,  from  that  which  becomes 
his  through  the  life  in  God,  who  by  breathing  into  him  His 
Spirit  raised  him  above  the  beasts  of  the  field,  (see  Gen.  ii.  7,) 
— man,  godless  man,  is  in  truth  no  better  than  the  cattle, 
mpo  being  in  the  stat.  absol.  can  only  be  translated — "  for 
haphazard  are  the  children  of  men,  and  haphazard  are  the 
cattle,"  which  is  as  much  as  to  say  that  the  children  of  men 
are  no  less  haphazard  than  the  cattle.  Men  themselves  are 
designated  chance,  because  they  stand  under  the  dominion  of 
chance,  of  casualty.      Chance  or  haphazard  is  opposed  to  the 


CHAPTER  III.  1  1 7 

free  determination  of  one's  own  fate.  Their  lot  is  irresistibly 
determined  and  fixed /ro/Hwi^Aow^.  mpo,  "occurrence,"  from 
mp  "to  occur,"  in  1  Samuel  vi.  9,  is  set  in  contrast  or  opposi- 
tion to  that  which  arises  out  of  the  detemiined  decree  of  the 
God  of  Israel :  in  the  present  passage,  on  the  contrary,  it  forms 
the  contrast  to  that  which  is  the  effect  of  the  free  self-deter- 
mination of  man.  It  is  used  in  a  similar  manner  in  1  Samuel 
XX.  26,  (viz.  of  pollution  in  accordance  with  Deuteron.  xxiii. 
11  ;)  and  in  a  strikingly  similar  way  in  Euth  ii.  3,  where,  in 
regard  to  the  most  important  event  in  the  life  of  Ruth,  which 
must  certainly  be  looked  upon  as  under  the  special  leading  of 
God,  it  is  said — "  and  there  happened  to  her  an  occurrence," 
that  is,  it  happened  accidentally.  In  that  place  also  mpio 
designates  "haphazard,  chance"  in  one  particular  aspect 
thereof  Similar  also  is  Luke  x.  81  :  xam  suyxvplav  ds  'npsug, 
and  so  forth.  "  Accident,"  there,  is  put  in  contrast  to  the  in- 
tention or  purpose  of  the  priest  himself  The  words — "  and 
one  accident  or  chance  befalleth  them,"  i.  e.,  they  are  both 
under  the  rule  of  the  same  chance,  serve  to  explain  the  some- 
what obscure  expression — "they  are  chance."  Hitzig  observes: 
"  the  author  means,  and,  as  we  learn  from  what  follows  im- 
mediately after,  can  only  mean,  the  same  final  fate,  namely, 
death."  But  the  relation  of  this  to  what  follows  is  rather  that 
of  the  general  to  the  particular.  The  general  is,  that  men,  no 
less  than  the  cattle,  are  subjected  to  a  foreign  power ;  the 
■special  or  particular  is,  that  they  must  die.  mpD  is  employed 
of  fates  in  general  in  chap.  ii.  1 5  also  ;  there  is  nothing  to 
justify  limitation  of  its  application.  And  one  breath  have 
they  all.  nil  signifies  here  "  the  breath  of  life,"  as  in  chap, 
viii.  8,  and  in  Psalm  civ.  29,  where  we  read,  "thou  gatherest 
together  their  breath,  they  depart  and  return  to  their  dust." 
See  also  Genesis  vii.  21,  22.      "And  all  flesh  died  that  moves 

upon  the  earth,  both  fowl  and  cattle  and  wild  beasts, and 

all  men.  All,  in  whose  nostrils  was  the  breath  of  the  Spirit  of 
life,  died."  The  flood,  that  type  of  all  other  judgments,  was  a 
sublime  confirmation  of  the  indisputable  truth  here  expressed. 
Tlien  were  the  "  heroes,"  "  the  men  of  name,"  compelled  to  ex- 
perience that  everything  on  earth  has  the  same  breath.  "No 
pre-eminence  has  man  above  the  beast,"  that  is,  of  course,  in  those 
ikspects  which  have  already  been  brought  under  notice.    That  Ko- 


118  CHAPTER  III. 

heletli  had  not  the  remotest  intention  of  setting  man  in  general 
on  a  level  with  the  brute  creation  is  evident,  both  from  ver. 
11,  where  he  makes  man's  exalted  pre-eminence  to  consist  in 
the  eternity  which  God  hath  put  in  his  heart,  and  further, 
from  the  entire  relation  in  which  Koheleth  stood  to  the  faith 
of  Israel,  of  which  faith,  the  likeness  of  man  to  God  was  so 
important  an  element.  Luther  says — "  Why  are  we  then 
proud  and  arrogant,  we,  who  are  no  more  certain  of  the  hour 
of  our  death  than  the  beasts  or  the  cattle  ?" — Tlie  foundation 
of  verse  20  is  Gen.  iii.  19,  "In  the  sweat  of  thy  face  shalt  thou 
eat  thy  bread,  tiU  thou  return  unto  the  ground  ;  for  out  of  it 
wast  thou  taken  ;  for  dust  thou  art  and  unto  dust  shalt  thou 
return."  That  is  a  truth  which  man  is  led  ever  afresh  by  his 
pride  to  forget.  All  go  unto  one  place:  in  Job  xxx.  23, 
Sheol  is  designated  "  the  assembly  house  for  aU  living,"  i.  e. 
for  aU  living  men.  Of  that  however  the  writer  is  not  speak- 
ing here,  but,  as  Hitzig  remarks,  "  of  the  place  whither  the 
body  comes  (all  was  formed  from  the  dust,  and  all  returns  to 
the  dust).  Beasts  (Genesis  ii.  19,  i.  24)  as  well  as  men 
(Genesis  ii.  7)  are  originally  born  of  dust,  and  return  to  the 
dust.  (Psalm  civ.  29,  Genesis  iii.  19,  Psalm  cxlvi.  4).  This 
holds  good  of  the  body  in  both  spheres." — Ver.  21.  In  this 
verse  Koheleth  goes  on  further  to  say,  that  man  has  notwith- 
standing a  great  and  glorious  superiority  over  the  beasts,  in 
that,  when  his  body  crumbles  to  dust,  the  spirit  returns  to 
God  who  gave  it  (xii.  7) ;  whereas  the  soul  of  the  beast  per-, 
ishes  with  the  body.  This  pre-eminence  is,  however,  hard  to  be 
perceived  ;  it  is  concealed  beneath  that  which  we  have  in  com- 
mon with  the  beasts ;  and  the  fact,  that  his  pre-eminence  is 
thus  hidden,  ought  in  itself  to  be  sufficient  to  lead  man  to 
humility  and  extinguish  in  him  aU  proud  thoughts.  Who 
knovjeth  the  spirit  of  the  children  of  men  that  goeth  upivard  ? 
Precisely  as  in  Psalm  xc.  11  (compare  Isaiah  liii.  1),  the 
words  ynr  iq  direct  attention  to  the  difficulty  of  discerning 
this  superiority,  which  does  not  lie  on  the  surface :  whereas, 
on  the  contrary,  the  resemblance  man  bears  to  the  beasts 
forces  itself  on  our  notice,  n^yn  is  the  participle  with  the 
article,  which  here,  on  account  of  the  guttural  that  follows,  is 
pointed  with  Kametz,  instead  of  with  Patach  and  a  following 
Dao;esh,  as  in  the  coiTCsponding  word  mivn.      The  participle 


CHAPTER  III.  119 

with  the  article  is  often  employed  for  the  verb  finif.  with  a 
relative  :  as  for  example  "  the  ascending  one,"  instead  of,  "  he 
who  ascends,"  (see  Ewald,  §  335).  In  regard  to  the  word 
Nin  Ewald's  remarks,  §  314,  hold  good:  he  says— "the  most 
delicate  manner  of  giving  prominence  to  a  person  is  by  means  of 
the  pronoun  Nin,  avrog,  Latin  ipse;  a  person  is  thus  specially 
referred  back  to,  and  distinguished  from  others.  As  s<in  adds 
only  a  freer  kind  of  accessory  distinction,  it  stands  without 
article  after  the  particular  noun."  This  consideration  does 
away  altogether  with  the  objection  urged  by  J.  D.  Michaelis, 
that :  "  According  to  the  grammar,  another  n  would  be  re- 
quired before  Nin,  in  case  it  should  be  said  that  xin  is  added  by 
way  of  emphasis,  and  that  the  translation  may  run  as  follows, 
quis  novit  spiritum  hominis  ascendentem  ilium  f  Compare, 
for  example,  Numbers  xviii.  23;  Nin  ^i^n,  "he,  the  Levite." 
The  foundation  of  the  characteristic  of  man  here  brought  into 
prominence  is  contained  in  Genesis  ii.  7- — "  He  breathed  into 
his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life."  If  the  spirit  of  man  is  a  breath 
from  God,  it  cannot  perish  with  the  body,  but,  when  the  dust 
returns  to  the  dust,  must  return  to  Him  who  gave  it.  That 
which  belongs  to  the  earth  is  given  back  to  the  earth  ;  and 
so  that  which  belongs  to  heaven  must  be  rendered  back  to 
heaven.  And  the  breath  of  the  beast,  that  goeth  downward  to 
the  earth.  This  is  in  itself  easy  to  be  known.  The  sense  how- 
ever here  is  the  following — "Who  knows  both, — the  immortal 
soul  of  man,  and  the  perishable  soul  of  the  beast,  in  their  differ- 
ence from  each  other?"  The  Septuagint,  Chaldee,  and  Syriac, 
take  the  n  in  n^yn  and  in  mnvn  to  be  interrogative,  rendering 
the  words — "  Who  knows  whether  the  spirit  of  the  children 
of  men  goeth  upward,  and  whether  the  breath  of  the  beast 
goeth  downward?"  and  this  interpretation,  the  rationalistic 
exegesis  has  adopted.  From  the  point  of  view  offered  by  this 
translation  Knobel  remarks — "  Koheleth  shews  an  acquaint- 
ance with  the  dogma  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  but  he 
throws  doubt  on  it,  in  order  no#  to  invalidate  the  view  ex- 
pressed in  verses  19,  20.  Had  he  believed  in  a  going  upward 
of  the  soul  to  God,  he  would  have  contradicted  himself"  But 
the  contradiction  here  affirmed  exists  only  in  appearance. 
Verses  19  and  20  speak  only  of  the  physical,  bodily  nature 
of  man.     ITie  fact  that  as  to  his  body  man  is  under  the  same 


J  20  CHAPTER  III. 

necessity  of  dying  as  the  beasts,  should  suffice  to  humble  him, 
and  to  make  clear  the  folly  of  arrogance.      Against  this  view 
of  n  as  used  interrogatively  the  following  reasons  may  be  urged: 
I.  According  to  the  points  n  can  only  be  the  article,  and  can- 
not be  the   interrogative   particle,  (compare   Ewald,  §  104): 
and  this  ground,  by  itself,  is  sufficient.      That  the  present 
pointing,  which  rests  on  the  authority  of  tradition,  is  incom- 
patible with  the  interrogative  view,   is  frankly  conceded  by 
Ewald:  "In  chap.  iii.  21,"  says  he,  "the  Masorah  has  twice 
changed  the  interrogative  n  into  the  article — manifestly,  be- 
cause it  deemed  the  question  objectionable."      If  the  vowels  of 
the  Old  Testament  were  really  the  work  of  narrow  minds, 
whose  judgment  was  guided  only  by  what  the  exegesis  seemed 
to  them  to  require,  the  vocalization  would  present  a  very  dif- 
ferent appearance.     II.  This  interrogative  view,  wrung  from 
the  text  by  the  alteration,  involves  the  author  in  a  glaring 
contradiction  with  himseE     That  which  he  is  here  said  to 
call  in  question  and  deny,  he  distinctly  avows  hisi  behef  of  in 
chap.  xii.  7.     It  is  the  more  difficult  to  allow  the  existence  of 
such  a  glaring  contradiction,  as  elsewhere  the  writer  is  always 
self-consistent,  never  following  the  suggestions  of  the  moment, 
but  everywhere  setting  before  his  readers  fixed  and  clearly 
defined  teachings.     The  words  of  chap.  ix.   10  also, — "the 
Sheol  whither  thou  goest," — are  decisive  against  the  supposi- 
tion that  Koheleth  sets  the  soul  of  man  on  an  equahty  with 
that  o,f  the  beast  which  goeth  downward  to  the  earth,  that  is, 
which  perishes  along  with  the  body.      III.  The  interrogative 
view,  further,  involves  the  author  in  a  contradiction  with  the 
original  records  of  the  Jewish  religion,  the  possibility  of  which 
no  one  will  allow  who  has  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  book, 
and  the  presence  of  which  would  make  the  admission  of  the 
book  into  the  Canon  an  insoluble  problem.     To  co-ordinate 
the  soul  of  man  and  the  soul  of  the  beast  is  manifestly  to  con- 
tradict the  Thorah,  which  was  the  standard  of  all  thinking  m 
Israel ;  "  In  the  Pentateuch  man  is   exalted  to  a  very  high 
position.      He  is  created  last  of  all  and  is  set  at   the  head  oi 
creation.      Everything  else  exists  for  his  sake.      According  to 
Genesis  i.  26,  27,  he  is  created  in  the  image  of  God,  namely, 
so  that  the  whole  divine  glory  shines  forth  fi'om  him  in  a  re- 
duced measure.     According  to  Genesis  ii.  7,  two  elements  are 


CHAPTER  III.  121 

■united  in  man,  an  earthly  and  a  divine,  wliicli  latter  no  other 
creature  shares  with  him. — We  have  here  the  anthropological 
basis  of  the  doctrine  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  As  in 
the  earthly  element  of  man's  nature,  there  lies  not  only  the 
possibility,  but  even,  so  far  as  it  is  not  penetrated,  pervaded 
and  glorified  by  the  spirit,  the  necessity  of  death  :  so  in  the 
fact  that  man  shares  the  divine  image,  participates  in  the  life 
which  comes  from  God,  there  is  involved  the  possibility,  yea, 
the  necessity,  not  only  of  immortality  in  general,  but  of  an 
immortality  of  blessedness  or  misery,  of  eternal  life  or  damna- 
tion. The  soul  which  bears  the  divine  image,  is,  as  such,  re- 
moved not  only  from  the  sphere  of  the  perishable,  but  also 
from  the  ranks  of  those  creatures  which  merely  exist  or  vege- 
tate." Beitr.  3  s.  570.  Throughout  the  entire  Old  Testa- 
ment this  all-important  distinction  between  the  soul  of  man 
and  the  soul  of  the  beast  is  firmly  maintained  ;  so  that  this 
passage  would  occupy  quite  an  isolated  position.  Everywhere, 
at  all  events,  we  fijid  the  doctrine  of  the  Sheol. 

Ver.22.  Here  the  practical  conclusion  is  drawn  not  only  from 
ver.  21,  but  from  the  whole  chapter.  Such  a  close  was  the 
more  necessary  because  verses  19-21  are  pretty  far  removed 
from  the  main  thought, — so  far  removed  indeed  that  they 
might  form  a  parenthesis.  Man,  this  is  the  thought,  is  not 
master  of  the  future  :  therefore  he  must  rejoice  in  the  present. 
The  same  practical  conclusion  had  been  already  drawn  in 
ver.  1 2.  To  that  our  attention  is  here  again  directed.  And 
I  smu  that  nothing  is  better  {p  y\D  "better,"  chap.  iv.  3, 
1  Samuel  i.  8),  than  that  a  man  should  rejoice  in  his  own 
works,  in  the  works  themselves,  and  in  that  which  is  pro- 
duced and  effected  by  their  means,  so  that  he  has  his  por- 
tion from  them  (chap.  v.  18).  For  who  shall  bring  him  to 
see  lohat  shall  take  lolaee  after  him  ?  "  After  him,"  that  is, 
not  after  his  death,  but  after  the  condition  in  which  he  now 
finds  himself  Jerome  says  :  Pro  eo  quod  nos  posuimus  :  ut 
videat  id  quod  futurum  est  post  ipsum,  apertius  interpretatus 
est  Symmachus  dicens  :  ut  videat  ea  quae  futura  sunt  post 
hgec.  In  the  parallel  passage,  chap.  vi.  1 2,  it  is  said,  "  What 
will  happen  after  him  under  the  sun."  According  to  this, 
those  general  events  are  referred  to,  which  exercise  a  decisive 
influence  on  his  fate.      It  is  not,  therefore,   permissible  to  ex- 


122  CHAPTER  IV. 

plain  the  words  to  mean — "  what  will  become  of  him," as 

those  are  compelled  to  do  who  suppose  that  a  conclusion  is  beino- 
drawn  from  the  verse  immediately  preceding.  This  supposi- 
tion is  based  moreover  on  a  false  interpretation  of  ver.  21, 
where  immortality  is  not  denied  but  affirmed  (Knobel :  "one 
must  enjoy  before  death  in  order  not  to  go  away  empty.")  If 
ver.  21  has  been  rightly  explained,  this  present  verse  would 
not  form  at  all  a  suitable  conclusion  from  it  alone.  Man 
knows  not  what  God  will  do  to  him  (ver.  11).  Therefore  is 
it  foohsh  to  give  ourselves  up  to  wearisome  exertions  in  pur- 
suit of  happiness,  to  distress  ourselves  with  cares  (verses 
9,  10);  and  quite  as  foolish  is  it  to  enter  upon  many  dis- 
tracting schemes  and  occupations,  to  hunt  after  the  -taoutou 
ahnKLrnc,  (1  Timothy  vi.  17),  to  gather  together  and  to  heap  up 
for  him  on  wdiom  it  shall  please  God  to  bestow  it  (chap.  ii. 
26)  ;  wise,  on  the  contrary,  is  it,  to  rejoice  in  the  present. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  link  of  connection  between  the  different  parts  of  this 
chapter  is  the  common  reference  to  the  misery  under  whose 
yoke  the  people  lay  groaning. 

According  to  verses  1-3  the  earth  is  not  a  place  where 
righteousness  dwells,  but  a  scene  of  injustice  and  violence. 
This  was  a  knowledge  at  which  the  Church  of  God  arrived 
with  peculiar  ease,  and  which  was  impressed  on  it  with  pecu- 
liar force,  at  the  time  when  it  was  itself  under  the  tyi-annical 
rule  of  worldly  power.  The  chapter  now  under  notice  sug- 
gests that  the  book  was  composed  during  that  period.  Some 
have,  in  this  connection  also,  spoken  of  the  "bitterness  of  Ko- 
heleth's  view  of  the  world,"  and  have  found  in  these  verses 
the  "  expression  of  the  complaints  of  a  bitter  and  desperate 
spirit."  But  this  is  quite  incorrect.  Koheleth  does  not  com- 
IJlain:  he  considers  ("I  saw  all  the  oppressed"),  and  simply  sets 
before  us,  facts.  To  know  and  present  these  in  their  naked 
truth  is  a  privilege  of  the  wisdom  which  dwells  in  the  midst 
of  the  people  of  God ;  whilst  on  the  contrary  the  world  is 
compelled  in  many  cases  to  close  its  eye  against  them  and  to 
surrender  itself  to  illusions,  unless  it  be  prepared  to  become 


CHAPTER  IV.  123 

the  prey  of  despair.  The  Avi-etclied  state  of  things  here  de- 
picted could  only  justify  complaints  against  God  if  there  had 
been  no  Ml,  if  man  were  still  in  the  condition  in  which  he  was 
when  he  came  forth  from  the  creative  hand  of  God.  Since  the 
day  spoken  of  in  Genesis  iii.  the  best  world  is  that  of  which 
it  has  been  said,  "The  world  is  but  a  vale  of  tears,  and  every- 
where need,  trouble,  fears."  Such  a  state  of  things,  however, 
can  only  breed  despair  in  the  minds  of  those  who  have  fixed 
their  eyes  on  the  earth,  and  who,  by  their  own  guilty  con- 
duct, have  sealed  up  the  fountains  of  consolation,  to  which 
the  writer  directed  attention  in  chap,  iii.,  and  to  which  he 
wiU  again  point  in  the  following  chapters.  From  these 
fountains  our  misfortunes  and  troubles  should  drive  us  to 
draw. 

Ver.  1.  And  I  returned  and  considered  all  the  oppressed 
that  are  made  under  the  sun,  and  behold  there  the  tears  of  the 
oppressed,  and  they  have  not  a  comforter,  and,  in  the  hand  of 
their  oppressors,  power,  and  they  have  no  comforter.  Ver.  2. 
And  I  'praised  the  dead  which  are  cdready  dead  more  than 
the  living  which  are  yet  alive.  Ver.  3.  And  more  than  both, 
him  that  hath  not  yet  been,  that  hath  not  seen  the  evil  work 
that  is  done  under  the  sun. 

Ver.  1 .  That  mti^  is  not  to  be  taken  in  the  sense  of  "  to  turn 
oneself,"  but  in  that  of  "to  return,"  is  clear  from  the  parallel  pas- 
sage, Zechariah  v.  1,  "  And  I  returned  and  lifted  up  mine  eyes 
and  behold  a  flying  roll :"'  as  compared  with  Zech.  iv.  1  : 
"  and  the  angel  that  talked  with  me  came  again  (returned) 
and  waked  me,  as  a  man  that  is  wakened  out  of  his  sleep." 
It  might  be  supposed  that  the  words — "  I  returned  and  saw," 
— indicate  that  the  present  subject  had  been  already  brought 
under  consideration  ;  (compare  chap.  iii.  1 6  f.)  The  words 
however  rather  imply  that  the  author's  meditations  are  taking 
a  new  turn,  as  is  clear  not  only  from  Zechariah  v.  1,  but  also 
from  the  parallel  passage,  chap.  ix.  11,  where  the  phrase — 
"  I  returned  and  saw," — manifestly  introduces  a  new  thought. 
In  ver.  7  also,  the  expression — "  I  returned  and  saw," — indi- 
cates that  the  meditation  which  had  been  interrupted  is  taken 
up  again,  and  is  turned  to  a  new  subject.  TiatJ'  points  out 
in  general,  that  a  train  of  thought  is  taken  up  again  after  a 
pause  during  which  it  had  been  dropped  :    Vulgate,  "  verti  me 


3  24  CHAPTER  IV. 

ad  alia."  And  then  the  fresh  subject  is  described.  A II  oppressed 
who  are  made.  That  the  author,  in  referring  to  the  oppressed, 
had  especially  in  view  the  people  of  Israel  which  was  trodden 
under  the  foot  of  the  powers  of  this  world,  is  clear  from  chap, 
iii.,  but  especially  from  Jeremiah  1.  33, — "thus  saith  the  Lord 
of  Hosts,  the  children  of  Israel  and  the  children  of  Juda  are 
oppressed  together,  and  all  that  took  them  captives  held  them 
fast  and  would  not  let  them  go."  n'p^^V  never  signifies 
"  oppression,"  always  "  oppressed."  The  Q'^pV^i^  of  Amos  iii.  9, 
stand  to  the  ^'lipiJ'i?  of  chap.  iv.  1,  evidently  in  the  relation  of 
patiens  to  agens.  The  D^ti'V  of  the  former  passage  are  the  C^T 
and  the  D^j^ns  of  the  latter.  Job  xxxv.  9  is  to  be  explained — 
"  by  reason  of  the  multitude  of  the  oppressed  they  cry  : "  that 
is,  complaint  is  raised  that  there  are  on  earth  so  many  who 
are  unrighteously  oppressed.  There  is  the  more  reason  for 
retaining  this  meaning  in  this  clause,  as  the  word  is  undeni- 
ably employed  in  a  like  sense  immediately  afterwards  in  the 
course  of  the  same  verse.  D'^B^yj  suits  this  meaning  very  well. 
The  oppressed  are  made  such  hj  their  oppressors. 

Ver.  2.  On  this  verse  Luther  remarks — "  when  one  atten- 
tively regards  the  innumerable  sorrows  of  the  heart,  miseries, 
great  evils  and  troubles  on  earth,  and  the  awful  wickedness 
there  is  in  the  world  which  is  the  devil's  kingdom,  one  must 
surely  be  of  the  mind  that  it  were  better  to  be  dead  than  to  see 
so  much  wretchedness."  The  thought  expressed  in  this  verse 
occurs  also  frequently  under  Christianity,  notwithstanding 
the  abundant  sources  of  consolation  opened  to  us  by  its  doc- 
trines and  promises.  There  are  seasons  in  the  life  of  nations, 
and  of  individuals  when  this  tliought  presses  itself  on  the  mind 
with  peculiar  force.  It  has  full  truth,  though  of  course  of  a  one- 
sided character.  In  view  of  the  severe  sufferings  to  which  our 
life  is  exposed,  it  can  scarcely  appear,  considered  in  reference 
to  that  which  is  usually  described  as  the  happiness  of  life,  to 
be  a  desirable  good.  In  this  aspect  of  the  matter  the  dead  are 
more  to  be  envied  than  the  living.  In  other  aspects,  however, 
life  appears  as  a  high  and  noble  possession.  And  even  in  the 
general  human  aspect  that  saying  holds  true,  "  a  living  dog  is 
better  than  a  dead  lion,"  (chap.  ix.  4,)  and  that  other  one, — 
"  Light  is  sweet,  and  a  pleasant  thing  is  it  for  the  eyes  to  see 
the  sun,"  (chap.  xi.  7.)      On  the  believer,  moreover,  as  he  walks 


CHAPTER  IV.  125 

in  the  darkness  of  this  earthly  Hfe,  there  shines  a  bright  hght, 
(Job.  XXXV.  1 0,)  so  that  he  can  say — "  my  flesh  and  my  heart 
may  fail,  but  God  is  the  rock  of  my  heart  and  my  portion  for 
ever,"  (Psalm  Ixxii.  26  :)  he  takes  delight  in  fearing  God  and 
keeping  His  commands,  (chap.  xii.  13;)  he  is  able,  with  a 
heart  that  rests  and  is  satisfied  in  God,  to  enjoy  the  blessings 
which  the  present  never  f^xUs  to  offer  even  when  public  affairs 
are  in  the  most  wretched  condition  ;  he  hopes  in  the  retribu- 
tive righteousness  of  God  which  will  bring  the  perversions 
and  wickedness  of  the  world  to  an  end,  (chap.  iii.  16  ;)  and, 
finally,  in  the  momentary  perversion  of  justice  he  recognises  a 
wholesome  means  of  divine  chastisement,  (chap.  iii.  1 8.)  ^2'^ 
is  the  injin.  absol.  which  with  an  emphatic  brevity,  appropriate 
to  the  excitement  here  felt,  is  employed  for  the  verb  jinit. 
(compare  chap.  ix.  11  ;  Ewald  351c.)  It  is  not  the  Particip. 
in  Piel  with  rejected  o, — an  aphaeresis  which  scarcely  occurs 
in  the  Piel  form, — for  T^^.'^^p  in  Nehemiah  i.  6-11,  is  an  ad- 
jective, feminine  of  ^'^\>,  and  there  is  no  ground  for  regarding 
"liiD  in  Zephaniah  i.  14,  as  a  participle,  since  it  is  often  used  as 
an  infinitive  with  the  signification  "'  hastily."  Tliat  "133  does 
not  mean  "  long  ago,"  but  "  already,"  and  serves  to  define 
the  preterite  more  strictly,  is  very  clear  in  this  passage.  It 
forms  the  contrast  to  njny,  contracted  from  njn  IV,  "stiU." 

Ver.  3.  With  increased  force  of  expression  the  author  here 
says  that  it  is  better  not  to  have  been  bom  at  all  than  to 
live.  Parallel  with  this  is  the  passage  (chap,  iii.)  where  Job, 
who  had  no  peace  nor  repose,  and  who  was  disturbed  ever 
afresh,  wishes  for  himself  the  lot  of  **an  hidden  untimely 
birth,"  and  curses  the  day  of  his  birth,  or  where  in  verse  20 
of  the  same  chapter  he  asks — "  Wherefore  is  Kght  given  to 
him  that  is  in  misery,  and  life  to  the  bitter  in  soul  ?"  So 
also  when  Jeremiah  in  chap.  xx.  curses  the  day  of  his  birth, 
and  in  ver.  18  complains,  "  Wherefore  came  I  forth  out  of  the 
womb  to  see  labour  and  soitow,  that  my  days  should  be  con- 
sumed with  shame  V  In  regard  to  such  expressions,  however, 
we  must  remark  that  so  far  as  they  occur  in  Scripture  they 
contain  only  one  side  of  the  trath.  In  proof  of  which  the 
same  Jeremiah,  in  a  passage  immediately  preceding  the  one 
just  quoted,  says  :  "  Sing  unto  the  Lord,  praise  ye  the  Lord, 
for  he  delivers  the  soul  of  the  needy  from   the  hand  of  the 


12b  CHAPTER  IV.  4-6. 

e\dl  doers.'"  Such  a  feeling  of  human  misery  is  not  only 
natural,  but  is  intended  by  God  who  brings  us  into  circum- 
stances which  call  it  forth.  By  thoroughly  disgusting  us 
with  the  world,  and  by  making  us  realize  its  absolute  vanity, 
God  means  to  draw  us  to  himself  Only  in  this  way  can 
Jahveh,  the  true  and  absolute  Being,  become  to  us  what  he 
really  is.  Through  much  tribulation  must  our  hold  on  earthly 
things  be  loosened  and  ourselves  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
God. 


CHAPTER  IV.  4-6. 

The  emptiness  of  earthly  happiness  betrays  itself  clearly 
in  the  fact  that  it  is  accompanied  by  envy  (ver.  4)  :  "when 
any  man  has  good  fortune  and  good  days,  then  envj^  is  sure 
to  rave  and  rage."  We  must  not,  however,  suffer  this  sad 
experience  to  mislead  us  into  inactivity  (ver.  5).  Still,  in 
view  of  such  a  fact,  we  shall  do  well  not  to  mix  ourselves  up 
too  much  with  distracting  affairs,  and,  on  the  contrary,  re- 
joicing when  they  are  not  forced  upon  us,  (like  Israel  at  that 
time),  be  content  with  a  humble  lot  in  life  (ver.  6). 

Ver.  4.  And  I  considered  all  travail  and  all  skill  of  ivork, 
that  this  is  the  envy  of  a  man  from  his  neighbour  :  this  also  is 
vanity  and  empty  effort.  Ver.  5.  The  fool  foldeth  his  hands 
together  and  eateth  his  oivn  flesh.  Ver.  6.  Better  is  one  hand 
full  of  rest,  than  both  fists  full  of  travail  and  empty  effort. 

Ver.  4.  The  word  jntTD,  which  occurs  only  in  Koheleth,  is 
rendered  by  the  LXX.  here  and  in  chap.  ii.  21  by  dvdpiia,  virtus. 
Derived  from  -ijr:),  "  rectus  fuit,"  it  is  used  partly  of  "  skill, 
ability  in  action,"  and  partly  of  the  "fortunate  results" 
thereof  In  the  latter  signification,  namely,  "  advantage, 
gain,"  it  occurs  in  chap.  v.  10  ;  in  the  former  we  find  it  used 
in  chap.  ii.  21,  in  conjunction  with  wisdom  and  knowledge: 
"  a  man  whose  work  is  in  wisdom  and  knowledge  and  Kish- 
ron  (piB'^).  There  follow  after,  the  words  :  "  and  to  a  man 
who  has  not  laboured  therein  must  he  give  it."  According  to 
the  contrast  here  drawn  ])-\^::  must  refer  to  the  labour,  the 
activity  itself,  and  not  to  the  result.  The  matter  of  com- 
plaint is  that  the  skill  developed  in  labour  has  no  higher  pre- 


CHAPTER  IV.   4-6.  ]  27 

rogative.  pi'C'a  is  employed  in  the  sense  of  "  skill,  tibility," 
here  also. — Tliat  this  is  the  envy  of  a  man  from  his  neigh- 
hour  : — the  end  of  the  whole  matter  is  that  a  man  is  envied 
by  his  neighbour  ;  Vulgate,  "  eum  patere  invidi?e  proximi." 
Following  the  example  of  the  Decalogue  inyiiD  draws  atten- 
tion to  the  baseness  of  the  fact  that  the  friend,  of  God  and 
right,  grudges  him  the  successful  results  of  his  skilful  labour. 
It  is  of  course  better  to  be  envied  than  pitied,  but  still  envy 
with  all  the  hostile  and  pernicious  acts  flowing  therefrom,  and 
which  frequently  bring  about  the  ruin  of  their  object,  is  a 
great  evil,  and  it  is  no  small  consolation  for  a  man  who,  like 
Israel  at  the  time,  finds  himself  in  an  unenviable  position,  to 
know  that  he  is  not  exposed  to  this  torment.  Several  inter- 
preters think  that  here  all  distinctions  are  traced  back  to  the 
principle  of  rivalry.  That  would  be  an  incorrect  thought : 
whereas  it  is  a  demonstrated  truth  that  "  men  envy  the  happy." 
In  Isaiah  xi.  13,  D>-iss  nX3p  is  the  jealousy  felt  by  Ephraim 
of  Judah,  who  was  preferred  :  in  chap.  ix.  6,  of  this  book, 
envy  is  conjoined  with  hatred.  The  verb  also  is  frequently 
used  to  denote  envy  or  jealousy  of  advantages.  It  is  hard 
that  a  man's  zeal  should  be  interpreted  by  his  neighbour  to 
be  an  envious  desire  to  surpass,  to  outstrip  him.  Then  fur- 
ther, the  connection  with  verses  5,  6  is  decisive  against  this 
view.  "  Vanity  and  empty  effort "  are  not  usually  predicated 
of  labours  which  are  morally  worthless,  but  of  such  as  bring 
no  advantage  (compare  chap.  ii.  17).  Ver.  5.  In •  order  to 
avoid  envy  we  may  not  throw  ourselves  into  the  arms  of  in- 
activity. The  only  effect  of  that  would  be  to  ruin  ourselves. 
To  lay  or  fold  the  hands  together  is  a  gesture  of  laziness.  To 
devour  one's  own  flesh  is  to  work  one's  own  ruin  (compare 
Isaiah  xlix.  26).  The  principal  passage  is  Proverbs  vi.  9-11  : 
"  How  long  wilt  thou  lie,  O  sluggard  ?  When  wilt  thou 
arise  out  of  sleep  ?  A  little  sleep,  a  little  slumber,  a  little 
folding  of  the  hands  to  sleep.  So  shall  thy  poverty  come  as 
one  that  travelleth,  and  thy  want  as  an  armed  man." 

Ver.  6.  Men  are  warned,  however,  by  the  bitter  experience 
mentioned  in  ver.  4,  to  do  well,  and  not  to  go  beyond  that 
which  is  strictly  necessary.  Taught  by  such  an  experience 
they  will  be  satisfied  with  a  humble  and  limited  lot.  ^oy  and 
mi  myi  point  back  to  ver.  4.      "  Both  fists  full  of,  etc,"  is  as 


li'b  CHAPTER  IV.  7-12. 

imicli  as  "'both  fists  fall  of  good"  which  more  carefully  looked 
into,  is  after  all  only  travail  and  empty  effort.  Israel  then 
had  the  hand  full  of  rest :  the  heathen  power,  both  fists  full 
of  travail.  To  make  Israel  content  with  its  lot  by  laying  bare 
the  vanity  of  that  which  it  was  destitute  of,  but  which  the 
world  possessed,  is  the  usually  misunderstood  main  drift  of 
verses  4-6. 


CHAPTER  IV.  7-12. 

How  little  the  life  of  a  man  depends  on  many  possessions, 
the  author  shows  in  a  picturesque  description  of  the  example 
of  a  rich  man  who  has  so  completely  isolated  himself  by  his 
selfishness  and  avarice,  that  he  stands  alone  and  deserted, 
without  enjoyment  and  without  protection  in  life. 

The  author  repeatedly  recurs  to  the  subject  of  avarice  and 
earnestly  combats  it.  We  may  conclude  therefore  that  it  was 
one  of  the  principal  diseases  of  the  time.  It  comes  before  us 
as  such,  also,  in  the  other  literary  monuments  of  that  period. 
"  Ye  run  every  man  to  his  own  house,"  says  Haggai  in  chap.  i. 
9.  Malachi  complains  in  chap.  i.  that  the  worst  offerings  are 
presented  to  the  Lord,  and  in  chap.  iii.  7-12,  of  dishonesty  in 
the  bringing  of  tithes  and  offerings.  Nehemiah,  also,  accord- 
ing to  chap,  v.,  was  compelled  to  resort  to  stringent  measures 
against  the  usurous  practices  then  in  vogue.  The  temptation 
to  avarice  lay  in  the  unsatisfactory  nature  of  the  general  cir- 
cumstances, which  exposed  men  to  the  danger  of  centering  all 
their  interest  in  their  own  private  affairs :  but  then  also 
further  in  the  distress  of  the  times,  and  in  the  exactions  of  the 
heathen  authorities  by  which  they  were  misled  into  clinging 
the  more  tenaciously  to  that  which  they  already  possessed. 

The  description  has  however  two  sides.  It  is  directed  not 
only  against  avarice,  but  also  at  the  same  time  against  envy 
of  the  riches  of  the  world,  of  their  heathen  tyrants.  One 
ought  not  to  vex  oneself  about  "  a  handful  of  vanity  ;"  one 
should  not  allow  oneself  to  be  beguiled  into  discontent  with 
the  leadings  of  divine  providence,  into  murmurings  against 
God,  for  such  a  cause.  The  aim  both  of  the  preceding  and 
following  observations  is  to  lead  Israel  to  a  just  estimate  of 


CHAPTER  IV.  7-12.  129 

that  which  the  heathen  possessed,  and  whicli  they  themselves 
lacked  ;  and  taking  both  together,  we  may  say  that  the  pas- 
sage has  a  predominant  reference  to  that  side  of  the  descrip 
tion  last  mentioned.  Ver.  1-3  exhibits  the  misery  of  the 
covenant  people:  ver.  4-1 G  opens  up  points  of  view  from 
whicli  their  condition  appears  in  a  more  favourable  light. 

Ver.  7.  And  I  returned  and  saw  vanity  under  the  sun. 
Ver.  8.  There  is  one  and  not  a  second,  he  hath  neither  son 
nor  brother,  and  there  is  no  end  of  all  his  labour,  his  eyes 
also  are  not  satisfied  ivith  riches,  and  for  whom  do  I  weary 
myself  and  bereave  my  soul  of  good  ?  This  also  is  vanity 
and  a  sore  plague.  Ver.  9.  Better  the  two  than  the  one,  be- 
cause they  have  a  good  reiuard  in  their  labour.  Ver.  10. 
For  if  they  fall  the  one  tvill  lift  uj:)  his  fellow,  and  woe  to  him, 
the  one,  ivho  falleth  and  hath  not  a  second  to  help  him  up. 
Ver.  11.  Again,  if  tw'o  lie  together,  then  they  have  heat:  but 
how  can  one  be  ivarm  alone  .?  Ver.  12.  And  if  he  prevail 
against  him,  the  one,  two  shall  withstand  him,  and  a  three- 
fold cord  is  not  quickly  broken. 

Ver.  7.  The  words — "  I  returned  and  saw  vanity," — indi- 
cate that  a  new  species  of  vanity  is  now  brought  under  consi- 
deration.— How  far  the  possession  of  earthly  wealth  is  from 
being  in  itself  a  good,  the  author  shows  in  ver.  8  ff,  by  sketch- 
ing befoi'e  us  in  a  picturesque  manner  a  scene  from  life  which 
illustrates  this  truth  in  a  most  palpable  manner.  It  is  an 
entire  mistake  to  assume,  as  Rarabach  and  others  do,  that  the 
author's  controversy  is  with  celibacy,  or  with  the  "  fuga  vitse 
soci?e."  Luther's  remarks  are  substantially  accurate  ;  "  Greedy 
bellies  are  to  be  found  yet,  who  hunt  after  money  and  pro- 
perty night  and  day  and  still  do  not  want  it."  Ver.  9.  There 
is  one  and  not  a  second.  Ice  hath  neither  son  nor  brother.  The 
second  here  mentioned  is  different  from  the  son  and  from  the 
brother.  According  to  what  follows  there  is  one  whom  he 
might  have,  but  has  not  through  his  own  guilt.  He  has  iso- 
lated himself  by  his  own  selfish  avarice,  has  driven  all  com- 
panions away,  and  stands  alone  in  the  world.  The  words, 
"  he  hath  neither  son  nor  brother,"  are  meant  to  bring  clearly 
to  light,  on  the  one  hand,  the  folly  of  blind  passion — he  stands 
alone  in  the  world,  has  no  one  to  care  for,  and  consequently 
has  no  apparent  reason  for  his  avarice — and  on  the  other  hand 

I 


180  CHAPTEE  IV.  7-12. 

the  wretcHedness  of  his  position.  He  ought  the  more  eagerly 
to  seek  to  make  to  himself  friends,  seeing  that  he  has  no  rela- 
tives of  his  own. 

Ver.  9.  The  tivo  in  this  verse  form  a  contrast  to  the  one 
without  second  in  ver.  8.  Wherein  the  reward  consists  is  de- 
tailed in  ver.  10  ff.  They  afford  each  other  protection  and 
help,  and  mutually  render  life  agreeable.  The  isolated  man 
on  the  contrary  must  work  in  vain,  since  he  is  destitute  of 
enjoyment  in  life,  and  without  protection  in  danger. 

Ver.  10.  When  they  fall,  that  is,  either  the  one  or  the 
other.  IX,  "  woe,"  occurs  only  here  and  in  chap.  x.  1 G  ;  the 
cognate  word  M  in  Ezekiel  ii.  10:  Elsewhere  ^ix  and  iin  are 
employed. 

Ver.  1 1 .  Several  commentators  fancy  that  they  find  here  a 
reTerence  to  the  wife  :  but  inappropriately.  A  wife  the  rich 
miser  might  have,  and  be  a  prey  to  the  feeling  of  desertion 
which  invariably  accompanies  an  avaricious  and  selfish  dispo- 
sition. It  is  sure  to  have  its  revenge.  Lovelessness  always 
finds  its  echo. 

Ver.  12.  Tlie  subject  alluded  to  here  is  the  enemy  which 
must  be  supplied  from  the  tone  and  circumstances  of  what  is 
said,  (Ewald  §  294  b.)  P)pn  always  means  "  to  prevail  against 
to  overpower,''  never  "to  attack:"  compare  the  adjective  ti'^pn 
"powerful"  in  chap.  vi.  10.  "Him,  the  one,"  is  as  anuch  as 
to  say,  him,  in  his  isolation,  or  because  of  his  isolation.  The 
image  of  a  "  threefold  cord," — in  making  a  firm,  strong  cord, 
three  threads  were  usually  used, — is  the  more  appropriate 
here,  as  the  number  two  in  general  only  represents  plurality. 
The  author  must  not  be  considered  as  arguing  from  the  point 
of  view  of  mere  prudence.  The  m.oral  abominableness  of  isol- 
ating selfishness  and  heartless  mammon  worship  are  brought 
clearly  to  light  by  the  unhappy  positions  in  which  they 
set  men. 


CHAPTER  IV.,   13-16. 

In  the  preceding  part  of  the  chapter,  the  writer  has  laid 
bare  the  vanity  of  possessions;  now  he  proceeds  to  show 
the  vanity  of  rulers,  in  order  to  console  his  fellow  country- 


CHAPTER  IV.   13-16.  131 

men  in    bondage,  who   could  not    forget  their   own  loss  of 
dominion. 

Ver.  1 0.  Better  is  a  youth,  poor  and  wise,  than  an  old  and 
foolish  king,  ivho  knoweth  no  more  to  he  admonished.  Ver. 
14.  For  out  of  prison  he  cometh  to  reign,  whereas  impover- 
ished is  he  that  was  horn  in  the  kingdom.  Ver.  15.  /  saiv 
all  the  living  which  walk  under  the  sun,  with  the  youth  that 
stands  in  his  stead.  Ver.  1 6.  There  is  no  end  to  all  the 
people,  to  all  whom  he  precedes.  Nevertheless  those  luho  came 
after  him  shall  not  rejoice  in  him.  For  this  also  is  vanity 
and  empty  effort. 

"  Ah  !  how  vain  and  fleeting  are  the  honours  of  men  !  To- 
day we  are  compelled  courteously  to  kiss  the  hand  of  the  man 
whom  to-morrow  we  tread  under  our  feet  in  the  grave."  An 
illustration  of  these  words  is  given  here  in  the  portrait  drawn 
of  the  old  king  who  is  displaced  by  another  ;  and  then  in  that 
of  the  upstart  who  is  first  extolled  and  courted,  and  at  last 
loses  the  favour  which  exalted  him  to  the  throne.  At  his 
ascension,  millions  of  voices  cried,  "Long  live  the  King;" 
words  which  contain  the  "  Pereat"  of  him  who  is  deposed. 
But  the  scales  are  again  turned.  He  becomes  in  the  end  as 
unpopular  as  his  predecessor.  "  This  rounded  earth  can  afford 
no  rest,  for  what  it  at  one  moment  raises  up,  at  the  next  it 
casts  down."  Because  of  the  loss  of  such  vanity  we  ought 
not  to  fall  into  inconsolable  sadness.  Every  attempt  at  an 
historical  exposition  of  this  section  is  useless.  That  which 
appears  to  imply  such  a  reference,  is  but  minute  and  special 
portraiture,  and  not  otherwise  to  be  judged :  it  is  like  the 
picture  given  from  life  in  ver.  8,  where  the  general  thought  is 
not  barely  advanced,  but  clothed  with  flesh  and  blood. 

Ver.  1 3.  "  Better  is  a  youth,"  not  in  a  moral  point  of  view, 
but  because,  notwithstanding  his  temporarily  low  position,  he 
gains  the  kingdom  which  the  other  loses,  and  so  is  better  off, 
So  also  D-inia  in  ver.  9,  31D  in  ver.  3. 

Ve7\  1 4.  The  first  half  of  ver.  1 4,  gives  the  reason  of  the 
expression  "  better : " — "  For  out  of  prison  he  cometh  to 
reign," — namely,  "  that  youth."  That  nnion  is  a  contraction 
of  D^DNn,  (Ewald  §  86  b.)  is  plain  from  Judges  xvi.  21  :  "  and 
he,  (Samson)  groaned  a'•-)''D^«  n"'23  (ver.  25  :)  also  Genesis  xxxix. 
20,  where  inon  nu  is  explained  by — "  the  place  where  the 


132  CHAPTER  IV.   18-16. 

king's  prisoners  were  bound."  The  author  appears  to  have 
borrowed  this  feature,  that  the  youth  rises  to  power  out  of 
prison,  from  the  history  of  Joseph  ;  only,  however,  this  one 
feature,  for  as  to  the  other  circumstances  there  is  uo  resem- 
blance. Whereas  impoverished  is  he  that  was  horn  in  his 
kingdom.  The  abasement  of  the  governing  king  is  the  condi- 
tion of  the  rise  of  the  youth.  This  sentence  thus  assigns  the 
motive  for  that  which  is  advanced  in  the  preceding  one.  The 
catchword  is  "(712^.  The  Hebrew  word  rendered  "  whereas, 
although"  means  literally  "also:"  it  is  used  however  in  the 
sense  given.  See  Proverbs  xi v.  20,  Ewald  §362b.  Born  in 
his  kingdom :  i.  e.,  one  who  came  to  the  possession  of  the 
kingdom,  of  his  dignity  as  ruler,  by  birth  :  like  the  kings  of 
the  Philistines,  who  being  hereditary,  bore  the  title  Abimelech, 
that  is,  king's  father,  and  might  therefore  quite  as  well  have 
been  styled  king's  sons.  U's  is  not  a  participle,  but  the  pre- 
terite from  ur^,  and  contains  an  allusion  to  Psalm  xxxiv.  1 1  : 
"  lions  are  impoverished  and  suffer  hunger."  It  is  evident  from 
the  whole  connection  that  in  Lm  the  old  king  is  to  be  taken 
as  the  subject.  Symmachus  rightly  expresses  this :  6  hi 
taivip  j3a<!iXsug  yivvridiig  ij-Tropri&ri. 

Ver.  1 5.  This  verse,  according  to  which  "  all  the  living 
which  walk  under  the  sun"  fall  to  the  share  of  the  upstart, 
shows  that  the  circumstances  on  which  the  description  is 
founded,  are  not  those  of  any  petty  state,  but  of  the  great 
universal  monarchies  of  Asia,  which  took  particular  pleasure  in 
identifying  themselves  with  the  entire  orbis  terrarum.  Com- 
pare Daniel  iv.,  where  the  tree,  which  signifies  the  kingdom  of 
Nebuchadnezzar,  stands  "in  the  midst  of  the  earth,"  and 
spreads  itself  out  "to  the  end  of  all  the  earth,"  "all  flesh" 
was  nourished  from  it,  and  where  Daniel  in  giving  to  Nebuc- 
hadnezzar the  explanation  of  the  vision  says — "  thy  dominion 
reacheth  to  the  end  of  the  earth." 

Ver.  16.  All  tvhom  he  precedes,  that  is,  all  who  do  homage 
to  him  as  their  monarch  (Micah  ii.  13).  The  word  DJ  here 
corresponds  to  DJ  in  ver.  14,  and  directs  attention  to  an  addi- 
tion of  a  singular  kind,  which  falls  quite  as  much  to  the  lot 
of  the  second  king  as  the  first.  Whether  the  change  is 
brought  about  by  the  ftiult  of  the  king,  who  was  not  able  to 
bear  his  good  fortune,  and  failed  to  display  the  wisdom  in  his 


CHAPTER  V.   1-G.  133 

conduct  as  actual  ruler,  which  he  showed  in  the  attcdntnent  of 
power ;  or  whether  by  the  changeableness  of  the  people  we 
are  not  told,  and  simply  because  it  did  not  lie  within  the 
aim  of  the  author  to  speak  of  the  causes,  but  only  of  the  fact, 
of  the  change  itself  Luther  observes  :  "  and  so  we  find  in 
histories  that  at  first  many  rejoiced  and  hoped  in  Nero,  and 
looked  for  a  fine  able  ruler  in  him.  The  first  five  years  of 
his  reign  were  hopeful  and  were  commended  :  but  afterwards 
he  was  tyrannical,  and  that  in  the  most  aggravating  way. 
So  likewise  of  Heliogabalus  and  Commodus  were  good  hopes 
entertained,  that  they  would  turn  out  praiseworthy  princes 
and  rulers  :  but  the  hope  failed.  The  one,  Heliogabalus,  was 
a  vile  wretch,  who  gave  himself  up  to  all  manner  of  profli- 
gacy and  debauchery,  and  was  a  thorough  beast.  The  other 
ought  to  have  been  styled,  not  Commodus  but  Incommodus, 
that  is,  a  curse  to  the  land."  "  This  also  is  vanity,"  to  wit, 
worldly  greatness.  The  practical  conclusion  for  Israel  is — 
"  Why  vexest  thou  thyself  about  a  handful  of  vanity,  when 
God  bestows  on  thee  unchanging  treasures  ?  If  the  pound  is 
thine  surely  thou  mayst  let  the  farthing  go." 


CHAPTER  V.  1-6. 

The  author  whose  task  it  was,  now  in  the  way  of  consola- 
tion and  then  in  the  way  of  admonition,  to  lay  before  the 
people  of  God,  groaning  under  the  yoke  of  the  Persians,  that 
which  might  be  for  the  health  of  their  soul,  here  passes  over 
to  an  entirely  new  theme.  He  proceeds  to  bring  to  light  the 
evils  which  at  that  time  were  to  be  found  in  connection  with 
the  public  worship  of  God.  If  his  admonitions  went  to  the 
heart  their  effect  would  be  contentment  with  the  divine 
arrangements.  True  self-knowledge  throws  light  on  the 
otherwise  dark  ways  of  God.  When  one  learns  to  murmur 
against  one's  own  sin,  one  ceases  to  murmur  against  God.  A 
superficial  piety  sought  to  put  God  off"  with  sacrifices,  instead 
of  walking  in  the  way  of  His  commands:  prayer  in  many 
cases  degenerated  into  mere  chatter  :  vows  were  lightly  taken, 
but  when  it  came  to  the  fulfilment  they  hung  back.  There 
was  lacking  a  true  and  hearty  fear  of  God :  and  that  was  the 


134  CHAPTER  V.   1-6. 

root  and  spring  of  all  these  evils.  This  section  shows  that 
the  book  belongs  to  a  time  when  the  very  hearts,  which  at  an 
earlier  period  had  openly  renounced  God,  and  given  in  their 
adherence  to  heathenism,  were  devoted  to  a  dead  orthodoxy. 
Such  a  time  began  shortly  after  the  return  from  the  exile,  as 
soon  as  the  first  mighty  stirrings  of  the  hearts  had  relaxed,  as 
soon  as  the  first  enthusiasm  had  vanished.  How  strongly 
disposed  the  people  were  in  the  time  of  Nehemiah  to  with- 
draw themselves  from  the  services  due  to  God  may  be  seen  in 
Nehemiah  xiii.  10-20. 

Ver.  1 .  Keep  thy  foot  when  thou  goest  to  the  house  of  God, 
and  he  ready  to  hear,  which  is  better  than  that  fools  should 
give  sacrifice,  for  they  consider  7iot  that  they  do  evil.  Ver.  2. 
Be  not  rash  with  thy  mouth,  and  let  not  thine  heart  he  hasty 
to  utter  a  word  hefore  God,  for  God  is  in  heaven  and  thou 
upon  earth  ;  therefore  let  thy  words  he  few.  Ver.  3.  For  the 
dream  comes  through  the  m.ultitude  of  annoyance,  and  the 
voice  of  fools  through  the  multitude  of  words.  Ver.  4.  When 
thou  vowest  a  vow  unto  God  defer  not  to  pay  it,  for  fools  are 
not  pleasing  :  what  thou  vowest,  pay.  Ver.  5.  It  is  better 
that  thou  shouldest  not  vow,  than  that  thou  shouldst  vow  and 
not  pay.  Ver.  6.  Suffer  not  thy  mouth  to  cause  thy  flesh  to 
sin,  and  say  not  hefore  the  angel,  for  it  is  an  error.  Why 
should  God  he  angry  at  thy  voice  and  destroy  the  work  of 
thine  hands  ?  Ver.  7.  For  where  many  drewms  are,  there 
are  vanities  and  {even  so  where)  Tnany  words  :  for  fear 
God. 

Ver.  1.  The  words,  "  Keep  thy  feet,"  show  us  that  the 
going  to  the  house  of  God  is  a  serious  matter,  which  had 
better  be  omitted  if  not  done  in  a  right  spirit.  Jerome  says  : 
"  Non  enim  ingredi  domiim  dei,  sed  sine  offensione  ingredi 
laudis  est."  The  essential  thing  is  of  course  to  preserve  the 
heart,  but  the  posture  of  the  heart  is  represented  and  revealed 
in  the  manner  of  going.  The  author  speaks  of  feet,  perhaps, 
because  through  them  he  had  often  discerned  the  state  of  the 
heart.  The  Kri :  -j^j-i,  "  thy  foot,"  probably  owes  its  origin  to 
a  comparison  of  Proverbs  i.  15,  iv.  26,  27.  Psalm  cxix.  101, 
where  the  plural  is  employed,  might  just  as  well  have  been 
made  the  subject  of  comparison.  -iti'S3  "  so  as "  is  stronger 
than  the  simple  "  when."     aiip  never  occurs  as  an  Infin.  ahsol. ; 


CHAPTER  V.   1-6.  135 

always  only  as  an  adjective.  As  such  James  took  it  in  this 
place  :  see  the  Epistle  chap.  i.  1 9  :  saru  irag  avSpc»--rog  ra'/^-jg  iJg 
rd  aKoveai  (Soadvg  slg  to*  "kakr^tsat : — the  latter  is  an  allusion  to 
chap.  V.  1.  If  the  word  "  hear "  be  refeiTed  to  the  public 
worship  of  God,  we  must  look  to  the  reading  of  the  law  con- 
joined with  the  singing  of  Psalms  :  (compare  my  work,  On 
the  Day  of  the  Lord  :)  and  then  this  passage  would  furnish  a 
proof  that,  at  the  time  of  the  author,  it  was  customary  to 
read  from  the  law,  and  probably  to  connect  therewith  exposi- 
tions and  applications.  Taking  this  view  the  Berleburger 
Bible  remarks  :  "  We  must  not  be  satisfied  merely  with  hear- 
ing :  else  it  is  merely  that ;  and  this  is  not  all  that  is  in- 
tended. External  is  external :  and  the  true  aim  of  the  ex- 
ternal rites  of  worship  is  to  conduct  to  the  internal."  But 
that  the  matter  to  be  heard  is  much  rather  the  voice  of  the 
Lord,  and  that  consequently  "  hearing  "  has  substantially  the 
same  force  as  "  obeying,"  is  clear  from  1  Samuel  xv.  22,  where 
Samuel  says  to  Saul,  "  hath  the  Lord  delight  in  burnt  offer- 
ings and  sacrifices,  as  in  hearing  the  voice  of  the  Lord  ?  Be- 
hold, to  hear  (obey)  is  better  than  a  good  sacrifice,  and  to 
hearken  better  than  the  fat  of  rams."  In  Jeremiah  vii.  38, 
also,  to  hear  the  voice  of  the  Lord  is  set  in  opposition  to 
soulless  sacrifices.  God,  says  the  prophet,  did  not  com- 
mand his  people  concerning  soulless  sacrifices,  but  said 
to  them :  "  Hear  (obey)  my  voice,  and  I  will  be  your 
God,  and  ye  shall  be  my  people."  Parallel  also  is  the  pas- 
sage, Hosea  vi.  6,  "  for  I  have  pleasure  in  love,  and  not 
in  sacrifices ;  and  in  knowledge  of  the  Lord  more  than 
in  burnt  offerings :  see  also  Proverbs  xxi.  3  :  "to  do  jus- 
tice and  judgment  is  more  acceptable  to  the  Lord  than  sacri- 
fice," with  which  compare  ver.  27:  "the  sacrifice  of  the 
wicked  is  abomination."  What  the  voice  of  the  Lord  calls  for 
are  love,  righteousness,  justice  ;  whereas  soulless  sacrifices  are 
not  claimed  by  him  :  to  bring  them  therefore  instead  of  love 
and  the  like  is  the  contrary  of  obedience.  The  voice  of  the 
Lord  is  known  in  the  first  instance  from  the  "  roU,"  i.  e.,  "the 
volume  of  the  book,"  (Psalm  xl.  8),  "the  law  of  Moses," 
which  Malachi,  the  contemporary  of  Koheleth  admonishes 
(chap.  iii.  22)  the  lovers  of  ceremonies  to  remember.  At  the 
same  time,  however,  the  voice  of  the  Lord  makes  itself  heard 


136  CHAPTER  V.  1-6. 

also  in  the  hearts  of  the  faithful  :  compare  Psahn  Ixxxv.  9, 
and  the  words — "  thou  hast  digged  through  my  ears" — of 
Psalm  xl.  6.  By  a  rather  harsh  construction,  "before  that, 
that  fools  should  give  sacrifice,"  stands  for  "which  is  better 
than  that  fools  should  give  sacrifice."  That  n3T  signifies  here,  as 
always,  "slain  sacrifices,"  (not  sacrifices  in  general),  which  are 
particularly  selected  from  the  whole  number  of  sacrifices,  is 
evident  from  a  comparison  of  1  Samuel  xv.  22,  Hosea  vi.  6, 
Psalm  xl.  7,  where  "  slain  sacrifices "  are  mentioned  along 
with  "  burnt  sacrifices."  Not  of  "  sacrifices  "  in  general  does 
Koheleth  here  speak,  but  of  the  sacrifices  oi fools,  which  were 
not  an  outward  form  expressing  the  worship  which  is  in  spirit 
and  truth,  but  the  contrary  thereof,  namely,  an  invention 
whose  purpose  was  to  appease  God  and  to  silence  the  con- 
science. Several  commentators  explain — "for  they  know 
not,  in  order  that  they,"  or,  "so  that  they  do  evil,"  appealing 
to  the  fact  that  J?!"-  is  frequently  used  without  specification  of 
the  object,  which  must  either  be  supplied  from  the  context, 
or  be  taken  in  the  most  general  possible  way  (Isaiah  xliv. 
5,  6,  9,  18,  xlv.  20,  xvi.  1  0,  Psalm  Ixxiii.  22).  But  that  the 
words  must  rather  be  explained — "  they  know  not  that  they 
do  evil,"  (Ewald,  ij  280(?),  is  clear  from  that  saying  of  our 
Lord's  which  refers  back  to  this  passage,  rrdnp  apg  a-oroTg-  ou 
yap  o'ihaei  ri  rroioZai  (Luke  xxiii.  34.  Without  knowing  it  they 
do  evil,  so  that  their  manner  of  procedure  is  to  be  carefully 
shunned  and  avoided. 

Ver.  2.  From  the  same  want  of  living  fear  of  God  which 
was  at  the  root  of  the  offering  of  soulless  sacrifices,  arose  also 
the  use  of  many  words  in  prayer,  and  the  lightness  and  frivo- 
lity in  making  vows.  The  expression — "  let  thy  words  be 
few,"  as  compared  with  that  of  ver.  7,  "  many  words,"  shows 
that  vows  are  here  included.  Piel  from  hr\2,  in  the  sense  of 
"  to  haste,"  occurs  also  in  chap.  vii.  9.  The  explanation  of 
hv  is,  that  the  mouth  forms,  as  it  were,  the  foundation  of  the 
liasting  (Psalm  xv.  3).  Whoever  properly  takes  to  heart  that 
God  is  in  heaven  and  we  upon  earth,  will  be  sparing  in  his 
words,  will  say  nothing  which  has  not  the  fullest  inward 
truth,  which  does  not  come  from  the  deepest  depths  of  the 
heart ;  will  be  circumspect  in  his  vows,  vowing  nothing  which 
he  cannot,   or  does  not  intend  to  pay.    -The  most  grievous 


CHAPTER  V.   1-6.  137 

violation  of  tlie  reverence  we  owe  to  God,  tlie  most  guilty 
disrc-gard  of  the  fact  that  God  is  in  heaven,  and  we  on  earth, 
that  He  is  the  ricli  and  we  the  poor,  that  He  is  the  Almighty 
and  we  the  powerless,  is  not  to  pray  at  all,  to  remain  entirely 
dumb  towards  Him  in  whose  hand  are  the  souls  of  all  living. 
The  admonition,  "  let  thy  words  be  few,"  is  not  meant  to  set 
limits  to  the  glow  and  fire  of  devotion.  It  is  directed  not 
against  the  inwardly  devout,  but  against  the  superficially  re- 
ligious, who  fancy  that  in  the  multitude  of  their  words  they 
have  an  equivalent  for  the  devotion  they  lack.  That  the  say- 
ing of  our  Lord's  against  the  Pharisees  who  made  long  prayers 
by  way  of  pretext  (Mark  xii.  40) :  <7rpoasvy(^6fj,ivoi  di  i^r,  IBarro- 
7.(iyr,c!riTi,  etc.  (Matthew  vi.  7,  8),  contains  a  reference  to  this 
passage  is  the  less  to  be  called  in  question,  seeing  that  that 
type  of  a  short  and  good  prayer  which  He  gave  his  disciples 
immediately  afterwards,  begins  with  the  words — "  Our  Father, 
which  art  in  Heaven"  In  the  Berleburger  Bible  it  is  re- 
marked :  "  What  a  wide  application  may  be  made  of  these 
words  both  to  teaching  and  preaching,  to  prayer  and  to  our 
ordinary  life  !  How  many  sermons,  hours  long,  would  be 
expunged  by  this  censorship,  although  never  so  skilfully 
arranged  and  put  together  according  to  the  preaching-art. 
And  if  all  sermons  and  other  discourses  concerning  divine 
things  were  purged,  as  in  truth  they  ought  to  be,  from  all 
useless,  unedifying,  fruitless,  offensive  and  Avrong  words,  how 
few  would  the  censorship  leave  standing. — The  Saviour  took 
note  of  this  advice,  and  therefore  prescribed  a  short  form  of 
prayer,  at  the  very  commencement  of  which  the  petitioner  is 
moved  to  remember  the  majesty  of  God  who  is  in  Heaven, 
though  the  majesty  is  tempered  by  the  kind  and  lovely  name 
of  Father." 

Ver.  3.  Between  the  two  clauses  of  this  verse  there  is  no 
internal  connexion,  except  in  so  far  as  one  wi-etched  thing  is 
compared  with  another.  The  main  point  is  simply  the  rela- 
tion of  cause  and  effect.  The  voice  of  fools  is  the  result  of 
many  words  so  far  as  by  their  mea^is  it  is  recognised  or  known. 
If  we  draw  out  the  sum  total  of  man^  words,  the  result  is, 
the  voice  of  the  fool.  In  regard  to  py  which  is  not  "  busi- 
ness" but  "annoyance,"  compare  what  is  said  on  chap,  i  13. 


138  CHAPTER  V.    1-6. 

In  Job  vii.  '1 4  also  mention  is  made  of  the  terrible  dreams  to 
which  sufferers  are  exposed. 

Ver.  4,  5.  These  verses  have  special  respect  to  vows,  and 
refer  back  to  Deuteronomy  xxiii.  22,  23  :  "  When  thou  vowest 
a  vow  to  the  Lord  thy  God,  thou  shalt  not  slack  to  pay  it : 
for  the  Lord  thy  God  will  surely  require  it  of  thee,  and  it  will 
be  sin  in  thee.  But  if  thou  forbearest  to  vow,  it  is  no  sin  in 
thee."  That  the  divine  names  are  employed  not  at  random 
but  according  to  definite  principles  is  quite  clear  in  this  place. 
In  this  quotation,  which  otherwise  is  almost  literal,  the  simple 
DTi^X^  stands  instead  of  the  words  "  Jehova  thy  God,"  of  the 
original  passage.  The  Berleburger  Bible  says  :  "  Many  per- 
sons when  they  are  in  need  or  desire  aught  from  God  precipi- 
tate themselves  into  certain  vows,  and  promise  more  than  they 
have  afterwards  any  desire  to  fulfil  when  avarice  comes  in  and 
incites  them  not  to  perform  that  to  which  they  have  solemnly 
engaged  themselves.  In  the  hour  of  need  many  promise  to 
God  golden  mountains — how  thankful  they  will  be,  how  they 
will  improve  themselves  if  they  should  only  become  again  free 
and  healthy.  But  alas !  how  soon  does  the  deceitful  heart 
forget  all  that  when  it  is  out  of  the  strait." 

Ver.  6.  According  to  several  the  meaning  of  the  words, 
"  Sufier  not  thy  mouth  to  cause  thy  flesh  to  sin,"  is  that 
"  vows  lightly  taken  excite  the  carnal  mind  to  stronger  oppo- 
sition." But  in  the  Old  Testament  nti'n  never  signifies  the 
fleshly  mind.  Only  one  passage,  namely  Genesis  vi.  3,  con- 
tains an  approximation  to  this  signification.  In  James  iii.  6, 
where  we  read  of  the  tongue,  jj  (fTriAoum  oXov  t6  eu/xa,  and  the 
dependence  of  which  fr^om  the  passage  under  consideration  can 
the  less  be  denied  as  the  succeeding  words  zai  (pXcyl^ouffa  rhv 
rpoyh  rr,g  yinsiuc,  refer  back  to  chap.  xii.  6,  and  thence  receive 
their  assured  explanation,  -|t^•n  is  rendered  by  ffi5,aa,  and  not  by 
cafg.  2&;/x«  is  not  employed  there  in  opposition  to  soul,  but 
to  designate  the  body  as  endued  with  a  soul ; — in  short,  it  is 
a  designation  of  the  whole  person  from  the  bodily  side,  be- 
cause, in  the  first  instance,  the  tongue  is  a  member  of  the 
body.  So  also  here  nt^n  signifies  the  entire  personality.  In 
several  passages  the  soul  appears  as  an  appurtenance  of  the 
IB'n;  see  Leviticus  xvii.  11,  Job  xii.  10.  Cartwright's  re- 
marks here  are  quite  to  the  point :   "  Cave'ne  ore  tuo,  unico 


CHAPTER  V.   1-6.  189 

eoque  perexiguo  membro,  reatum  tibi  cum  corpore  turn  aninio 
accersas."  n'^^inn  here  is  not  "  to  lead  into  sin,"  as  in  Exodus 
xxii.  33,  but,  "to  set  into  the  position  of  a  sinner,"  "to  bring 
guilt  on  any  one,"  as  in  Deuteronomy  xx.  4,  and  Jeremiah 
xxxii.  35.  God,  who  will  not  be  mocked  (Galatians  vi.  7), 
will  punish  the  whole  person  for  the  misuse  of  the  tongue  in 
vowing  that  which  one  does  not  afterwards  perform. — And 
say  not  before  the  angel :  (do  thine  office,  atone  for  me,  bring 
the  sacrifice  usual  in  such  cases),  for  it  is  an  error,  ^n^o  is 
"  a  messenger  in  general,"  then  specially  "  messenger  of  God," 
"  angel."  The  priestly  order  is  described  as  the  angel,  in  order 
to  indicate  its  high  dignity,  and  the  heavy  responsibility 
attaching  to  frivolous  conduct  towards  it.  It  supplies  God's 
place  (2  Corinthians  v.  20).  The  Septuagint  and  the  Syriac 
have  rendered — "  before  God."  We  may  not  explain  the 
words — " before  the  messenger" — for  it  is  uncertain  whose  is 
the  messenger.  In  the  term  angel  is  implied  the  sending  from 
God.  There  is  here  a  remarkable  coincidence  with  Malachi. 
In  chap.  ii.  7,  8,  (and  except  there  nowhere  else  in  the  Old 
Testament),  the  priestly  order  is  brought  forward  as  the  mes- 
senger of  the  Lord — "  for  the  priest's  lips  should  keep  know- 
ledge, and  they  should  seek  the  law  from  his  mouth,  for  he  is 
the  angel  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts."  The  words — "  for  it  is  an 
error" — point  back  to  Numbers  xv.  27-31.  There  a  distinc- 
tion is  drawn  between  sins  which  are  committed  niJtja  and 
no"i  Tin,  sins  of  weakness,  which  still  cleave  even  to  such  as 
believe  and  as  are  consequently  riglii-minded,  and  ivilfid  sins 
— a  distinction  which  forms  the  basis  of  the  New  Testament 
doctrine  concerning  the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost  (compare 
Hebrews  x.  26-28).  The  former  can  be  atoned  by  sacrifices  : 
(compare  Numbers  XV.  28:  "And  the  priest  shall  make  an 
atonement  for  the  soul  that  sinneth  ignorantly")  :  the  latter 
are  on  the  contrary  punished  with  destruction.  One  should 
not  be  too  quick  with  one's  proposal  to  the  priest  to  offer  a 
sacrifice,  fancying  that  in  this  way  the  whole  matter  is  de- 
spatched. It  may  very  easily  happen  that  the  supposed  over- 
sight has  a  more  serious  character.  In  such  a  case  the  sacri- 
fice is  presented  in  vain,  and  the  sin  remains  and  involves  the 
soul  in  God's  judgments.  It  is  no  light  thing  to  make  a  mock 
as  it  were  of  the  Lord  of  Heaven  and  Earth  by  vowing  to  Him 


no  CHAPTER  V.   1-6. 

what  we  have  no  serious  intention  of  performing.  We  meet 
in  Malachi  with  the  same  religious  superficiality  which  fancies 
that  the  good  God  will  not  be  so  particular,  that  he  will  surely 
be  easily  satisfied,  especially  at  a  time  when  He  Himself  be- 
stows so  little  upon  men.  We  read  in  chap.  i.  8,  "  When  ye 
offer  the  blind  for  sacrifice,  it  is  not  evil :  and  if  ye  offer  the 
lame  and  sick,  it  is  not  evil : — bring  it  now  unto  thy  Gover- 
nor, if  he  will  be  pleased  with  thee  !"  On  the  ground  of  such 
facts  Malachi  in  ver.  6  brings  against  the  people  the  charge  of 
contempt  of  the  name  of  God. —  Why  should  God  be  angry  at 
thy  voice  and  destroy  the  work  of  thy  hands  ?  On  this  the 
Berleburger  Bible  observes  :  "  Vows  were  made  for  the  most 
part  of  the  fruits  of  the  earth  and  of  cattle  ;  and  when  they 
were  not  performed  the  ofifenders  were  punished  by  a  special 
curse  on  that  which  was  vowed." 

Ver.  7.  For  where  many  dreams  are,  there  are  vanities  and 
many  words,  with  them  is  it  even  so.  For  fear  God.  '•a 
refers  to  the  exhortation,  indirectly  contained  in  what  pre- 
cedes, to  avoid  many  words  in  our  intercourse  with  God, 
Whoever  fears  God  truly  will  speak  nothing  before  Him  that 
does  not  come  from  the  very  centre  of  his  heart,  will  vow 
nothing  which  he  is  not  resolved  inviolably  to  perform. 


CHAPTER  V.  8-9. 

The  point  of  departure  of  these  verses  is  the  heathenish 
tyranny  under  which  the  people  of  God  sighed.  But  this 
should  not  be  permitted  to  lead  us  astray  :  we  should  rather 
direct  our  eyes  to  the  heavenly  King  who  in  His  own  appointed 
time  will  bring  everything  again  into  order. 

Ver.  8.  If  thou  seest  the  oppression  of  the  poor  and  violent 
perverting  of  judgment  and  justice  in  the  province,  marvel  not 
at  the  purpose,  for  one  who  is  high  watches  over  the  high,  and 
a  highest  over  them.  Ver.  9.  And  the  advantage  of  the 
eaHh  is  in  all :    a  king  to  the  cultivated  field. 

Ver.  8.  ^tj  is  employed  with  the  genitive  of  that  which  is 
robbed  in  Ezekiel  xviii.  18.  The  robbery  is  committed  on 
judgment  and  justice.  So  certainly  as  the  Lord  hath  spoken 
in  view  of  the  unrighteous  oppression  of  his  people  by  the 


CHAPTER  V.  8-9.  141 

heathens,  "  I  hate  unrighteous  robbery,"  (Isaiah  Ixi.  8,)  so  cer- 
tain is  it  that  he  cannot  behold  such  conduct  unmoved, 
nyno,  which  properly  means  "jurisdiction,"  is  the  terminus 
technicus  for  the  provinces  of  the  Asiatic  World-Empires,  and 
is  used  especially  of  the  provinces  of  the  Persian  Empire.  The 
word  occurs  only  in  the  post-exile  Authors,  (Books  of  Kings, 
The  Lamentations,  Ezekiel,  Daniel,  Esther,  Ezra,  Nehemiah,) 
amongst  which,  the  use  of  the  term  shows  that  Koheleth  must 
be  reckoned.  The  province  can  only  be  the  Jewish  one,  NDnD 
nin''  (Ezra  V.  8,)  which  comes  before  us  just  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  the  Province  in  Ezra  v.  8  ;  Nehemiah  i.  3  ;  vii.  6  ;  xi. 
3.  To  the  exhortation  "  not  to  marvel,"  at  the  strange  quid 
pro  quo  by  which  we  may  easily  be  led  to  wrong  conclusions 
regarding  God  and  His  Kingdom,  correspond  the  words — 
ayar?]ro/  ijjTi  ^iviZidSi  rr  iv  vfini  Tvpuisii,  cig  ^svou  vf^Tv  ev'x^aivovrog  in 
1  Peter  iv.  1 2.  J'Dn  (compare  on  chap.  iii.  1 ,)  may  be  refen-ed 
either  to  the  divine  pleasure,  or  to  the  tel  est  nion  lolaisir  of 
the  authorities  who  usually  introduced  their  edicts  with  the 
words — "  it  is  seemly  before  me,"  "  it  is  good  before  the  king," 
(Daniel  iii.  22  ;  vi.  2  ;  iv.  22  ;  Ezra  v.  17.)  The  antidote  to 
surprise  is  that  One  who  is  high  watches  over  the  high,  one 
too  who  is  able  to  cope  with  all  the  high,  seeing  that  He  is 
the  Highest  of  All.  The  sense  is  quite  mistaken  by  those  who 
find  here  the  empty  consolation  that — "  sooner  or  later  the 
higher  prefect  or  the  king  will  hear  of  it,  and  will  interfere 
with  his  punishment."  The  saying  here  holds  true  that  "  one 
crow  does  not  peck  out  the  other's  eyes."  A  real  parallel  may 
be  found  in  Psalm  Ixxxii.,  the  theme  of  which  is — "  God  judges 
amongst  the  gods."  a^nnj  is  used  precisely  in  the  same  way 
as  D'-JV^y,  "the  Most  High,"  in  Daniel  vii.  18-22,  and  as  QixTa 
"  the  Creator,"  in  chap.  xii.  1 ,  of  this  same  book.  For  remarks 
on  plural  designations  of  God,  which  are  independent  of 
Elohim,  and  which  owe  their  rise  to  the  same  source,  namely, 
to  the  intention  of  indicating  the  fulness  of  powers  in  God, 
see  my  "  Beitrdge,"  2  P.,  2.5G,  59,  60,  309,  19.  A  similar 
plural  relating  to  the  same  subject  occurs  also  in  Psalm  Iviii. 
12, — "Verily  God  judges,  D^'DSD',  on  the  earth."  The  suffix 
in  nn'^bv  lias  relation  to  the  plurality  which  lies  in  the  second 
nil  As  to  thought  there  is  a  perfect  agreement  between  this 
passage  and  Psalm  xcvii.  9, — "  For  thou,  Lord,  art  Most  High 


142  CHAPTER  V.  8-9. 

over  all  the  earth."  Luther  says  :  "  This  book  consequently 
teaches  thee  to  let  thine  heart  have  rest  and  peace,  and  not 
to  trouble  and  worry  thyself  over  much  when  things  go 
wrongly,  but  to  accustom  thyself  to  be  able  to  say,  when  the 
devil  brings  malice,  injustice,  violence,  and  burdens  on  the 
poor,  '  Such  is  the  way  of  the  world,  but  God  will  judge  and 
avenge  it.'  And  again,  when  thou  seest  things  going  well, 
learn  to  say,  '  God  be  praised,  who,  after  all.  so  rules,  that  we 
do  not  merely  suffer  evil  and  injustice,  but  receive  also  much 
good.'  Moreover,  let  every  man,  according  to  his  rank,  and 
God's  command,  do  his  work  with  the  best  industry  :  other 
things  let  him  commend  to  God  ;  let  him  be  patient  and  wait 
for  Him  who  is  able  to  find  out  and  judge  the  ungodly  and 
unjust.  He  who  cannot  lift  a  gi-eat  stone,  let  him  leave  it 
lying  and  lift  what  he  can.  Wlierefore,  when  thou  seest  that 
kings,  princes  and  lords  misuse  their  power,  that  judges  and 
advocates  take  bribes  and  allow  causes  to  sink  or  swim  as  they 
can,  being  wise  and  sensible  thou  wilt  think  within  thyself, — 
'  God  will  sometime  bring  about  a  better  state.' " 

Ver.  9.  "  The  tilled  field"  of  this  verse  denotes  the  earth, 
so  far  as  it  is  cultivated  and  inhabited,  the  ^nn  the  o/y.ovfxivrj. 
In  Genesis  ii.  5  also  "  the  field,"  is  the  broad  and  wide  plain, 
the  plain  of  the  earth.  The  King  is  the  Heavenly  one,  who 
has  the  will  and  the  power  to  put  an  end  to  the  oppressions 
of  the  earth  at  the  right  time,  the  "  Father  of  the  orphan  and 
the  Judge  of  the  widow,"  and  the  Saviour  to  whom  all  personcB 
viiserabiles  look  up  and  after  whom  their  heai-ts  cry  out.  In 
regard  to  matter,  Psalm  xlvii.  8,  "  King  of  the  whole  earth  is 
God,"  is  a  parallel  passage.  ^32  may  mean  either  "  in  all  that, 
in  all  gloomy  events  and  conditions"  presented  by  the  earth,  or, 
on  the  whole,  "in  general,"  like  b^'?  in  1  Chronicles  vii.  5.  Both 
come  substantially  to  the  same  thing.  For  even  on  the  latter 
view,  ^533  calls  attention  to  the  fact,  that  in  such  and  all  similar 
circumstances  God  is  "  the  sure  stronghold  of  persecuted  souls." 
Several  different  renderings  have  been  given,  which  originate 
in  the  incapacity  properly  to  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the  poetical 
expression — "  the  cultivated  field ;"  for  example,  Luther  renders 
"  and  besides  that,  is  the  King  in  the  whole  land  to  'cultivate 
the  field,"  with  the  explanation  that,  he  defends  and  protects 
his  subjects  against  wrong,  burdens  and  violence : — Ewald, 


CHAPTER  V.  8-9.  143 

"  with  all  that  a  king  is  set  over  the  countiy,"  with  the  ex- 
planation, "  and  since  with  all  that  it  remains  an  advantage  for 
the  country  to  have  a  king,  that  is,  a  well  ordered  government," 
or  as  Elster  expresses  it,  "  the  worst  government  is  better  than 
unbridled  anarchy."  Stier  even  translates — "  and  the  profit 
of  the  earth  is  ever3rwhere ;  he  who  cultivates  his  field  is  a 
king."  Against  all  these  interpretations  the  consideration  is 
decisive,  that  the  Niphal  of  12]}  occurs  only  in  the  signification 
"to  be  cultivated."  Knobel's  ingenuous  obsei-\'ation,  that, 
"  Strictly  taken,  the  sentence  does  not  belong  to  this  connec- 
tion," is  exactly  applicable  to  all  these  explanations.  The 
faulty  Kri  Nin  for  K'-n  arose  simply  from  exegetical  perplexities. 


CHAPTER  V.  10-20. 

In  verses  8  and  9,  Koheleth  comforted  the  poor  who  lay 
groaning  under  the  oppressions  and  exactions  of  the  heathen 
authorities,  by  directing  their  minds  to  the  heavenly  Ruler 
and  Judge  ;  and  thus  he  put  into  their  mouth  and  heart  such 
words  as,  "to  thee  lift  I  up  mine  eyes,  0  thou  that  sittest  in 
the  heavens,"  and,  "  we  raise  our  heart  and  hands  towards  the 
day  of  redemption."  In  these  verses  now  before  us,  he  seeks 
to  raise  them  up  to  the  right  point  of  view  for  the  considera- 
tion and  estimate  of  those  earthly  possessions  at  whose  loss 
they  were  so  grieved  :  "  Wliat  is  the  wealth  of  this  life  ?  It 
is  but  a  handful  of  sand,  and  uneasiness  for  the  heart."  His 
first  purpose  is  to  counteract  the  pain  felt  because  of  their 
loss.  At  the  same  time,  however,  he  has  the  further  aim  of 
opposing  avarice,  which,  in  times  of  distress,  so  easily  lays 
hold  on  men's  hearts.  Avarice  and  envy  have  the  same  root, 
namely,  the  false  estimate  of  earthly  possessions.  The  inten- 
tion of  the  author  to  warn  his  fellow-countrymen  against 
avarice  is  pretty  plainly  shown  in  ver.  17-19. 

Ver.  10.  He  that  loveth  silver  shall  not  be  satisfied  ivith 
riches  :  and  he  that  loveth  riches  hath  no  gain.  This  also  is 
vanity.  Ver.  11.  When  goods  increase,  they  are  increased 
that  eat  them,  and  what  good  is  there  to  the  owners  thereof, 
saving  the  heholding  of  them  with  their  eyes  ?  Ver.  1 2. 
Sweet  is  the  sleep  of  the  labouring  man,  ivhether  he  eats  little 


144  CHAPTER  V.    10-20. 

or  much :  and  the  abundance  of  the  rich  ivill  not  suffer  him  to 
deep.  Ver.  1 3.  There  is  a  sore  evil  which  I  have  seen  under  the 
sun, — riches  kept  by  the  owner  thereof  to  his  hurt.  Ver.  1 4. 
Bui  those  riches  perish  by  a  sore  evil,  and  he  begetteth  a  son  and 
there  is  nothing  in  his  hand.  Ver.  15.  As  he  came  forth  of 
his  'mothers  womb,  naked  does  he  go  atuay  again  as  he  came, 
and  he  takes  nothing,  notwithstanding  his  labour,  ivhich  lie 
might  carry  away  ^vith  him  in  his  hand.  Ver.  16.  And 
this  also  is  a  sore  evil,  that  in  all  points  as  he  cam^e  so  shall 
he  go,  and  what  profit  hath  he,  that  he  hath  laboured  for  the 
%vind.  Ver.  17.  All  his  days  also  he  eateth  in  darkness  and 
hath  m,uch  discontent,  and  then  his  sickness  and  wrath. 
Ver.  1 8.  Behold  what  I  have  seen  :  that  it  is  good  and  comely 
to  ecd  and  to  drkik,  and  to  see  good  in-  all  his  labour  where- 
with he  laboureth  under  the  sun  the  number  of  the  days  of 
his  life,  ivhich  God  gave  him,  for  that  is  his  portion.  Ver. 
19.  Also  to  whatever  man  God  giveth  riches  and  possessions, 
and  giveth  him  power  to  ecd  thereof  and  to  rejoice  in  his  lab- 
our, this  is  a  gift  of  God.  Ver.  20.  For  he  thinks  not  much 
of  the  days  of  his  life  because  God  hears  him  through  the  joy 
of  his  heart. 

Ver.  10.  The  rich  man  is  the  heathen.  This  is  especially- 
clear  in  verse  6  where  the  same  subject  is  treated.  But  it  is 
also  evident  from  a  comparison  with  verse  7,  where  the  poor 
man  is  the  Israelite.  The  connection  with  verse  7  and  8  is 
quite  plain.  There  the  minds  of  those  who  lie  groaning  under 
the  oppressions  of  the  heathen  are  directed  to  the  impending 
judgment  of  God.  Here  the  author  exhibits  to  them  the  true 
significance  of  riches,  and  thus  teaches  them  to  regard  in  a 
different  manner  their  own  losses,  and  the  heathen  gains, 
Hitzig  remarks,  "this  section  consoles  the  poor  man,  or  him 
who  is  poor  in  the  way  described  in  verse  7  ;  the  friend  of 
money,  (ver.  9,)  is  one  who  from  covetousness  oppresses  the  poor, 
(ver.  7.)  In  James  ii.  1-13,  and  v.  1-6,  also  is  the  rich  man 
the  heathen.''^  "  He  is  foolish  who  vexes  himself  about  a 
handful  of  vanity :" — this  is  proved  in  the  first  class,  by  the 


*  Bengel  remarks  on  James  ii.  7  :  loquitur  apostolus  maxime  de  divitihus 
ethnicis,  cf.  1  Peter  iv.  14  ;  ii.  12.  Inter  Judaeos  enim  non  erant  multi  divites, 
certe  Hieros. 


CHAPTER  V.   10-20.  145 

fact  that  riches  do  not  satisfy  the  heart, — a  fgct  which  must 
be  patent  to  every  one  who  has  noticed  how  the  rich  man  is 
ever  craving  for  more.  In  the  second  clause  of  the  verse  it  is 
affirmed  that  riches  afford  no  profit  at  all,  that  they  are  un- 
fruitful. To  the  words  here,  "  He  that  loveth  silver  shall  not 
be  satisfied  with  riches,"  Jerome  adduces  the  parallel  dictum 
from  Horace,  "  semper  avarus  eget."  Luther  compares  chap, 
i.  8,  "  the  eye  is  not  satisfied  with  seeing,  nor  the  ear  filled 
with  hearing:"  and  remarks — "Alexander  the  Great  had  not 
enough  in  his  many  kingdoms,  not  even  in  a  whole  world. 
It  is  just  so  in  other  things  also.  The  man  who  has  learning, 
wisdom,  honour,  property,  strength,  beauty,  health,  and  so 
forth,  is  notwithstanding  not  satisfied  therewith.  Thus  the 
wretched  poverty-stricken  life  of  the  covetous  man  is  a  good 
mirror  for  the  rest  of  us.  For  as  the  greedy  bellies  and  penny 
kissers  have  money  and  yet  dare  not  use  a  farthing  of  it  cheer- 
fully, but  are  constantly  looking  further  for  money  which  they 
have  not,  so  is  our  conduct  in  regard  to  all  other  gifts.  What 
is  a  poor,  troubled,  uneasy  heart  and  mind,  which  is  always 
looking  for  that  which  it  does  not  yet  possess  but  avaricious  : 
therefore  is  it  vanity  and  vexation  ?  Are  not  on  the  contrary 
those  happy  people  who  content  themselves  with  God's  present 
mercies,  with  moderate  means  of  life,  and  leave  God  to  care 
for  the  future?"  And  ivhoso  loveth  ri-ches  hath  no  gain: 
Vulgate  :  fructum  non  capiet  ex  eis.  In  regard  to  3ns  ^d, 
which  corresponds  to  the  simple  3ns  previously  employed,  see 
Ewald,  §  831  b.  }l?on  never  signifies  directly  riches,  but  al- 
ways, noise,  bustle.  In  Psalm  xxxvii.  1 6,  the  noise  of  the 
wicked  stands  for  their  wealth,  which  surrounds  them  who 
scrape  together,  who  employ  cunning  and  force,  with  noise, 
bustle  and  disquiet :  and  so  here  riches  are  represented  as 
tumult,  noise.  We  are  thus  taught  that  they  have  much  in- 
convenience from  this  wealth  of  nothing.  Why  there  is  no 
profit  is  further  shown  subsequently  when  the  author  seeks 
by  a  vivid  and  picturesque  representation  to  impress  their 
hearts  with  the  fact  that  life  does  not  consist  in  the  multitude 
of  our  possessions.  Also  this  is  vanity  ;  like  so  much  besides 
on  this  poor  earth  which  offers  so  many  fictitious  possessions. 
Fer.  11.  When  goods  increase  they  are  increased  that  eat 
them.  Eaters  come  from  all  sides,  for  the  rich  are  always 
K 


146  CHAPTER  V.   10-20. 

subject  to  claims  proportionate  to  their  wealth.  Luther  says  : 
"  this  is  a  weighty  and  glorious  saying.  An  avaricious  man 
is  never  contented  ;  he  is  always  scraping  and  collecting. 
And  for  whom  does  he  gather  ?  For,  whatever  he  may  fancy, 
it  is  as  the  proverb  says, — 'A  niggard  will  liave  his  spender.' 
So  warns  the  Scripture,  and  such  is  the  lesson  of  experience 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world,  that  all  hoarded-up  treasures, 
especially  such  as  are  due  to  injustice,  find  their  distributors 
and  devourers  either  during  the  life,  or  after  the  death  of  the 
avai'icious  collectors,  who  themselves  get  nothing  but  the  toil 
and  labour.  King  Solomon  was  also  a  rich  king.  Who  made 
use  of  his  great  possessions  ?  His  royal  household.  Who 
uses,  who  eats  and  drinks  up  the  wealth  of  princes  ?  All 
manner  of  attendants,  troopers,  servants,  waiters,  officials  and 
innumerable  other  fellows  who  do  not  in  the  least  deserve  it. 
Whoso  then  gathers  riches,  gathers  devourers.  Therefore,  why 
plague  thyself  to  collect  much  and  to  increase  thy  treasure  ? 
However  many  possessions  thou  hast  thou  canst  not  do  more 
than  fill  thy  belly  and  clothe  thy  poor  body.  If  God  gives 
thee  riches  use  thy  share  as  thou  usest  thy  share  of  water, 
and  let  the  rest  flow  on  :  and  if  thou  doest  it  not,  thy  gather- 
ing will  still  be  in  vain."  The  plural  D"'^j?n  is  used  for  the 
abstract  "  lordship." 

Ver.  1  2.  Stueet  is  the  sleep  of  the  labouring  man,  of  him 
who  IS  compelled  to  act  according  to  the  instruction  given  in 
Exodus  XX.  9,  "  six  days  shalt  thou  labour,"  and  to  eat  his 
bread  in  the  sweat  of  his  brow,  as  was  the  lot  of  Israel  at  that 
time.  And  the  abundance  of  the  rich  will  not  suffer  him  to 
sleejy  :  Jerome  says,  "  incocto  cibo  in  stomachi  angustiis  ses- 
tuante."  According  to  the  general  usage  of  Scripture,  a  "  rich 
man"  is  not  always  one  who  has  much  wealth,  but  also  one 
who  acts  contrary  to  the  admonition  of  the  Psalmist  in  Psalm 
Ixii.  1 1 ,  and  whose  heart  cleaves  to  riches.  In  Mark  x.  2  3- 
25,  the  "rich  man,"  and  the  man  who  trusts  to  his  riches, 
seem  to  be  used  interchangeably.  He  to  whom  riches  are  a 
secondary  matter,  who  does  not  set  his  heart  upon  them,  will 
not  be  so  designated.  Amongst  the  heathen  it  was  one  and 
the  same  thing  to  have  possessions  externally,  and  to  be 
internally  possessed  by  riches,  to  be  worshippers  of  mammon. 
For  they  were  destitute  of  that  saving  liberating  power  which 


CHAPTER  V.   10-20.  "J  47 

springs  from  a  connection  with  the  living  God  :  Mammon 
must  necessarily  be  their  God,  because  they  did  not  know  the 
true  God,  or  rather,  were  not  known  of  him. 

Ver.  IS.  A  sore  evil :  properly,  a  painful  evil,  n^n  —  n^m, 
Nahum  iii.  1 9  :  Jeremiah  xiv.  1  7 :  compare  in  my  Christology 
the  remarks  on  Isaiah  liii.  10.  Riches  kept  by  the  owner 
thereof  to  his  hurt,  inasmuch  as  he  loses  them,  (ver.  1 4,)  and 
becomes  so  much  more  unhappy  than  if  he  had  never  possessed 
them.  This  is  true  of  individuals :  this  holds  good  also  of 
entire  peoples.  How  miserable  were  the  Egyptians  after  they 
were  cast  down  from  the  height  of  their  power  and  wealth. 
So  also  the  Persians,  whom  the  writer  immediately  refers  to  in 
this  place.  The  fact  that  "  riches  attract  murderers  and  more- 
over often  lead  to  eternal  damnation,"  does  not  here  come  into 
consideration.  The  author  himself  gives  an  explanation  of 
the  words — "to  his  hurt  or  misfortune," — in  the  13th  verse, 
and  beyond  that  we  may  not  attempt  to  go.  In  this  way  all 
random  guessing  is  prevented. 

Ver.  1 4.  By  a  sore  evil ;  (compare  i.  1 3,  iv.  8). 

Ver.  15.  And,  the  author  proceeds  to  say  in  this  verse, 
apart  from  such  catastrophes,  death  puts  an  end  utterly  to 
the  possession  of  wealth.  In  death  the  rich  and  the  poor 
are  alike.  What  ceases  with  death  cannot  make  us  truly 
happy,  even  while  we  have  it.*  That  that  which  is  here 
spoken  of  is  something  common  to  men  as  men,  to  men  in 
general,  is  evident  from  the  fundamental  passage  in  Job  i.  21, 
and  the  parallel  passage,  1  Timothy  vi.  7,  where  the  vanity 
of  riches  and  the  advisableness  of  contentedness  are  grounded 
on  the  fact  that,  as  we  brought  nothing  with  us  into  the  world, 
so  we  can  take  nothing  with  us  out  of  it.  Notwithstanding 
his  labour :  which  consequently  he  has  employed  in  vain 
and  for  nought. 

Ver.  1 6.  The  thought  contained  in  ver.  1 5  is  here  repeated 
with  emphasis,  in  order  to  point  out  its  weight  and  to  set 
the  folly  of  envy  in  its  true  light.  This  also,  no  less  than 
the  sore  evil  of  ver.  1 3.     There  it  was  the  'ttXovtov  udn^^orrjg 

*  Seb.  Schmidt,  "  Novum  hoc  est  pro  fugienda  avaritia  argumentnm,  sumtum 
ah  eo,  quod  opum  possessor,  licet  morte  etiam  naturali  moriatur,  et  divitias  suas 
usque  ad  finem  vita  retinuerit,  nihil  tamen  eorum,  quae  habet,  secum  auferre 
possit,  sed  nudus  abire  cogatur." 


148  CHAPTER  V.   10-20. 

fl  Timothy  vi.  17),  the  vicissitudes  to  which  riches  are  ex- 
posed (Matthew  vi.  19,  20)  :  here  it  is  death  that  puts  aa 
end  to  all  possessions. 

Ver.  17.  And  what  must  a  man  not  endure  for  the  sake 
of  such  an  empty  and  vain  good.  He  eateth  in  darhness, 
even  though  he  may  be  seated  in  a  well  lighted  hall.  For 
he  has  no  light  in  his  heart :  there  all  is  gloom  and  sadness. 
In  1  Timothy  vi.  10,  it  is  said  of  those  who  seek  to  become 
rich,  lavTovg  mpii-TTiipav  odvvai;  TiXXa/;,  "  they  pierce  themselves 
through  with  many  sorrows."  Whoso  is  visited  by  such 
pains,  for  him  external  lights  are  kindled  in  vain.  Analo- 
gous is  the  frequent  employment  in  the  Old  Testament  of  the 
darkenings  of  the  sun  and  moon  as  an  image  of  hard  and  gloomy 
times:  see  Jeremiah  iv.  23,  Amos  viii.  9-10,  Micah  iii.  6,  and 
chap.  xii.  2,  of  this  book.  The  sun  shines  truly  only  for  the 
happy.  ^3S  is  used  in  its  strict  and  proper  meaning,  as  is 
evident  from  ver.  18.  Luther  remarks:  "To  eat-in  darkness 
is  nothing  else  than  to  pass  one's  life  in  sadness  and  melan- 
choly. Avaricious  and  uneasy  people  always  find  something 
which  does  not  please  them,  which  causes  them  to  murmur 
and  scold.  For  they  are  full  of  cares,  griefs,  and  anxieties : 
they  can  neither  eat  nor  drink  cheerfully :  they  are  always 
meeting  v/itli  something  that  frets  and  annoys  them."  Di;3 
is  the  third  preterite.  And  then  his  sickness  and  wrath. 
The  origin  of  the  sickness  is  clear  from  the  preceding  Dy^  and 
the  following  p^vp:  he  becomes  sick  with  vexation  and  wrath 
at  those  who  touch  the  mammon  on  which  his  heart  is  fixed. 
Cartwright  says — "nihil  ut  illi  ex  omni  labore  et  fatigatione 
emolumenti  supersit,  non  magis  quam  si  leves  quasdam  et 
nullius  ponderis  glumas  s.  pulverem  coacervasset,  quern  ventus 
uno  fiatu  subito  dispelleret." 

Ver.  18.  That  after  ""jx  we  must  mentally  set  a  colon: 
"Behold,  what  I  have  seen  :  that  it  is,  etc."  is  evident  from 
the  separating  accent  at  the  word  ''JX  andr  from  the  point- 
ing ''J>«  and  not  "'JX.  We  may  take  either  niD  or  ns''  as  an 
adverb,  or  even  explain — "that  it  is  good,  comely."  To 
eat,  to  drink,  to  see  good  (chap.  ii.  24)  forms  the  contrast  to 
scraping  avarice.  To  the  securing  of  that  which  the  wi-iter 
has  recognised  as  good  there  needs  no  heaping  up  of  treasures. 
The  words — "  the  number  of  the  days  of  his  life,"  are  meant 


CHAPTER  VI.  149 

to  remind  us  that  the  shorter  man's  life  is,  so  much  the 
more  ought  we  to  be  on  our  guard  against  seeking  happiness 
where  it  is  not  to  be  found. 

Ve7\  19.  Also:  that  is,  to  say  further  this  also,  Ewald, 
852  b.  God  gives  him  j^oiuer,  in  that  He  frees  him  by 
His  Spirit  from  the  bonds  of  avarice.  This  takes  place,  how- 
ever, only  in  connection  with  the  divinely  appointed  means, 
only  within  the  bounds  of  God's  heritage.  The  heathen  must 
serve  mammon  ;  they  are  sold  under  his  dominion,  and  for 
this  reason  their  riches  are  not  to  be  counted  as  good  fortune. 
^>h'^n  always  signifies  "to  make  to  rule,"  (Psalm  cxix.  133  ; 
Daniel  ii.  38-48).  The  object  of  the  rule  is  either  one's  oivn 
■heart,  which  the  natural  man,  separated  from  God,  has  not  in 
his  own  power :  or  riches,  which  without  this  action  of  God 
that  makes  free,  are  not*  a  good,  but  a  torment.  The  Berle- 
burger  Bible  remarks  :  "  made  him  Lord  over  it,  that  is, 
along  with  possessions  has  bestowed  on  him  also  a  free  and 
generous  soul,  so  that  he  may  not  be  a  slave  of  maiumon,  but 
understand  how  to  use  it  freely  and  rightly."  In  the  clause, 
"  that  is  a  gift  of  God,"  the  emphasis  does  not  lie  on  d'h^sx  but 
on  nriD,  as  is  clear  from  the  word  ''3  at  the  commencement  of 
ver.  1 9 — "  it  is  a  noble  gift,  for."  The  divine  causality  was 
prominently  brought  forward  previously. 

Ver.  20.  He  thinhs  not  much  of  the  days  of  his  life,  that 
is,  they  pass  smoothly  on.  1  Kings  viii.  35,  and  2  Chronicles 
vi.  26,  furnish  a  sufiicient  warrant  for  the  meaning  "  answer" 
given  to  the  Hiph.  of  nay.  All  other  meanings  are  incap- 
able of  proof.  Berleburger  Bible  :  "  To  the  pure  all  things 
are  pure  (Titus  i.  1 5),  and  so  a  pure  man  may  undoubtedly 
use  riches  with  purity  ;  and  it  will,  therefore,  chiefly  depend 
on  each  one's  o\^n  heart,  on  how  it  stands  before  God.  But 
if  any  person  is  unable  to  remain  just  as  contented  and  calm, 
when  house  and  home  are  burnt  down,  or  when  some  other 
damage  is  done  to  his  property,  he  proves  himself  to  be  not 
yet  truly  composed  and  satisfied  :  that  is  the  test  thereof" 


150  CHAPTER  VI. 


CHAPTER  YI. 


The  discussion  of  the  theme — "  the  vanity  of  riches  " — 
is  here  continued,  with  the  intent,  in  the  first  instance,  of 
repressing  the  envy  felt  at  the  advantage  enjoyed  by  the 
heathen  world  in  this  respect,  and  then  in  order  to  undermine 
the  prevailing  covetousness  which  proceeded  from  the  same 
root  as  envy,  namely,  the  false  estimate  of  earthly  posses- 
sions. 

Ver.  1.  There  is  an  evil  ivhich  I  have  seen  under  the  sum, 
and  heavily  does  it  weigh  upon  rtian.  Ver.  2.  A  man  to 
tvhom  God  giveth  riches,  wealth  and  honour,  so  that  he 
wanteth  nothing  for  his  soul  of  alVthat  he  desireth,  and  God 
giveth  him  not  poiver  to  eat  thereof,  for  a  stranger  will  eat 
it,  that  is  vanity  and  an  evil  disease.  Ver.  S.  If  a  man 
beget  a  hundred,  and  live  many  years,  so  that  the  days  of 
his  life  be  many,  and  his  soul  be  not  filled  with  good,  and 
also  that  he  have  no  grave :  so,  say  I :  an  untimely  birth 
is  better  than  he.  Ver.  4.  For  in  vanity  came  it  in,  and  it 
departeth  in  darkness,  and  with  darkness  is  its  name  covered. 
Ver.  5.  Moreover  it  satu  not  the  sun,  and  knew  it  not :  this 
hath  more  rest  than  that.  Ver.  C.  And  if  one  should  live  a 
thousand  years  twice,  and  should  not  see  good  :  do  not  all 
go  to  one  place  ?  Ver.  7.  A II  the  labour  of  man  is  for  his 
mouth,  and  yet  the  soul  is  not  satisfied.  Ver.  8.  For  what 
advantage  hath  the  wise  over  the  fool  ?  What,  the  miserable 
that  knoweth  to  walk  before  the  living  ?  Ver.  9.  Better  is  the 
sight  of  the  eyes  than  the  wandering  of  the  soul :  this  also 
is  vanity  and  empty  effort.  Ver.  1 0.  What  he  is  :  long  ago 
was  his  name  named,  and  it  is  known  that  he  is  man  and 
cannot  contend  with  Him  that  is  mightier  than  he.  Ver.  11. 
For  there  are  many  things  that  increase  vanity,  what  profit 
hath  man  ?  Ver.  1 2.  For  who  knoweth  what  is  good  for 
man  in  life,  for  the  number  of  the  days  of  his  vain  life, 
which  he  spendeth  as  a  shadow :  for  who  can  tell  a  man 
what  shall  be  after  him  under  the  sun  ? 

Ver.  1.  nai  may  refer  either  to  frequency  (Septuagint,  Vul- 
gate, "  frequens  ; "  Luther  ;   "  and  it  is  common  amongst  men,") 


CHAPTER  VI.  151 

* 

or  to  size.  In  favour  of  the  latter  view  are  decisive  the  prin- 
cipal passage,  Genesis  vi.  5,  and  the  parallel  passages,  chap.  ii. 
21;  viii.  6,  where  nm  nyi  signifies  "a  great  evil."  That 
which  on  a  superficial  examination  appears  as  a  great  good, 
turns  out,  on  more  careful  inquiry  to  be  a  great  evil.  The 
author's  commencing  at  once  with  such  a  description  of  the 
riches  of  worldly-minded  men  must  have  produced  a  great 
efiTect  and  given  envy  a  severe  blow. 

Ver.  2.  The  rich  man  is  the  Persian  (chap.  x.  20).  One 
ought  not  to  envy  him  his  riches.  He  does  not  dare  to  enjoy 
his  w-ealth,  and  the  enemy  will  soon  take  it  away  from  him. 
How  is  it  possible  that  that  should  be  a  matter  for  envy 
which  more  closely  viewed  is  but  a  vain  show  ?  There 
were  of  course  rich  spendthrifts  among  the  Persians  also.  But 
the  example  of  the  covetous  rich  man  served  as  a  proof  that 
riches  in  themselves  are  not  an  enviable  good.  Riches  and 
wealth  and  honour,  are  put  together  in  this  way  also  in  2 
Chronicles  i.  11.  God  gives  hvm  not  power,  that  is,  he  de- 
livers him  not  from  the  bonds  of  avarice  by  which  he  is  held 
bound  ;  (compare  chap.  v.  1 8).  Tlie  stranger  is  the  successor 
of  the  Persian  in  the  dominion  of  the  world.  n3:  is  quite 
generally  used  of  such  as  belong  to  another  nation  and  society 
(Deuteronomy  xvii.  15),  and  that  it  is  to  be  taken  in  this 
sense  here  is  evident  from  the  correspondence  that  exists  be- 
tween the  words,  "a  stranger  will  eat  it,"  of  this  verse,  and 
those  of  the  3d  verse,  "  also  he  will  have  no  grave."  Refer- 
ences cautiously  made  to  the  impending  catastrophe  of  the  Per- 
sian empire  may  be  found  also  elsewhere:  see  chap.  xi.  1-3  ; 
ix.  1 8.  The  expression,  "  evil  disease,"  which  has  much  the 
same  force  as  "  an  evil  is  like  a  disease,"  is  taken  from  Deuter- 
onomy xxviii.  59. 

Ver.  3.  Hundred,  namely,  sons.  The  phrase — "the  days 
of  the  years,"  is  constantly  used,  especially  in  the  Pentateuch, 
to  designate  the  time  of  one's  life  (Genesis  xxv.  7  ;  xlvii.  8,  9. 
Psalm  xc.  10).  The  words,  "his  soul  is  not  filled  with  good," 
correspond  to  the  words,  "  God  giveth  him  not  power  to  eat 
thereof,"  of  ver.  2  :  and  "  he  has  no  grave,"  to  the  words,  "  a 
stranger  will  eat  it."  mnp  elsewhere  signifies  always  "Grave," 
and  therefore  we  must  give  it  this  meaning  in  the  only  pas- 
sage, namely  Jeremiah  xxii.  19,  where  the  meaning  "Burial" 


152  CHAPTER  VI. 

seeius  to  he  required.  The  gi'ave  of  the  ass  is  the  flaying 
ground  The  preposition  is  omitted  there,  because  the  rela- 
tion is  quite  clear  in  itself.  Allusion  is  here  made  to  a  cata- 
strophe like  that  depicted  in  Psalm  Ixxix.  3,  "  their  blood  have 
they  shed  like  water,  and  there  was  none  to  bury  them." 
Compare  parallel  passages,  such  as  Jeremiah  viii.  2,  where  of 
the  godless  it  is  declared,  "  they  shall  not  be  gathered,  nor  be 
buried:  dung  shall  they  be  on  the  field,"  ix.  21,  xxv.  33; 
Isaiah  xiv.  19,  20,  and  what  is  written  of  Jezebel  in  2  Kings 
ix.  Seb.  Schmidt  and  Rambach  explain  incorrectly,  "  ex  turpi 
tenacitate  non  audeat  aliquid  honestse  sepulturse  destinare." 
Better  than  the  lot  of  such  a  rich  man, — a  life  without  enjoy- 
ment, and  then  not  even  a  grave, — is  the  lot  of  an  untimely 
birth,  which,  though  it  has  enjoyed  no  good,  has  experienced 
also  no  suffering. 

Ve7\  4,  5.  On  these  verses  it  is  remarked  in  the  Berlebur- 
ger  Bible,  "  the  meaner  and  worse  the  condition  of  an  untimely 
birth  is  made,  so  much  the  greater  must  also  appear  the  misery 
of  a  covetous  man."  The  last  words  of  verse  5,  "  this  has 
rest  above  that,"  give  the  ground  of  the  judgment  that  "  an 
untimely  birth  is  better  than  he,"  (ver.  3).  Rest,  freedom 
froTTb  suffering,  it  is  in  regard  to  which  an  untimely  birth  has 
the  advantage  over  such  an  unfortunate  rich  man,  who  ought 
in  fairness  to  be  an  object  of  pity,  instead  of  being  one  of  envy. 

Ver.  6.  And  if  one  a  thousand  years  (which  measure  the 
lives  of  the  first  fathers  of  the  human  race  nearly  reached) 
shoidd  live  txvice  over,  (Jerome,  "  et  non  ut  Adam  prope  mille 
sed  duobus  millibus  vixerit  annis")  is  he  then  to  be  counted 
happy?  Do  not  all  go  to  one  place?  Can  he  perhaps  fetch 
up  in  Sheol,  where  all  arrive  in  a  like  state  of  poverty,  {o-jhh 
yap  si GYjVi'y/.afisv  slg  rov  x6a/j.ov,  dj^Aov  on  ovds  s^svsyxsi'v  ri  duvu/j^sda,,  1 
Timothy  vi.  7)  that  which  he  has  lost  on  earth  ? 

Ver.  7.  All  the  labour  of  man  is  for  his  mouth,  (falsely 
explained  by  Luther — "  on  every  man  is  labour  imposed  in  his 
measure"),  which  is  easy  to  fill,  and  in  the  rich  man  is  not  larger 
than  in  the  poor.  The  Berleburger  Bible  says :  "  Can  they 
carry  more  than  one  garment  on  the  body?  Can  they  eat 
more  than  till  they  are  filled?"  The  rational  conclusion  to 
be  drawn  from  the  fact  presented  in  these  words,  is  that  which 
is   given  us  in  1  Timothy  vi.  8, 'i-i^ovng  d's  hcirpofag  y.at  GXi-rrd- 


CHAPTER  VI.  153 

ff/xara,  rouroig  apzi6(lr,6o!J.'Ja.  But  that  still,  notwithstanding  its 
limited  capacity  of  enjoyment,  the  soul  of  man  is  not  satisfied, 
is  very  strange,  and  is  a  strong  proof  how  greatly  the  human 
race  has  been  under  the  dominion  of  sin  and  folly  which  pro- 
duce i'ridu/j,iag  ToXXag  diOTirovs  -/.ai  f3Xot,[3ipai  (1  Timothy  vi.  9), 
ever  since  the  day  spoken  of  in  Genesis  iii/"" 

Ver.  8.  In  this  verse  are  advanced  the  grounds  of  the  pro- 
position laid  down  w^ith  such  generality  in  ver.  7,  "  that  the 
soul  of  man  is  not  satisfied."  So  deep  laid  is  tliat  hereditary 
disease  of  the  human  race,  avarice,  that  not  even  the  covenant 
people,  not  even  the  congi-egation  of  the  chosen,  is  free  from 
it.  Wisdom  is  invariably  represented  in  this  book  as  the  pre- 
rogative of  Israel,  folly  as  belonging  to  the  heathen.  The 
wise  man  ought  in  all  fairness  to  be  free  from  such  a  disease. 
But  in  reality  it  is  otherwise.  Even  in  the  midst  of  the  cove- 
nanted people  must  the  Lord  preach :  "  Take  heed  that  ye  be 
not  covetous,  for  a  man's  life  consisteth  not  in  the  abundance 
of  the  things  which  he  possesseth."  To  a  Timothy  even,  St. 
Paul  felt  it  necessary  to  write  :  sv  d=,  w  avdpoj-rrB  rov  &soj,  ravra 
<piZyi  (1  Timothy  vi.  11).  In  the  old  Testament  the  members 
of  the  kingdom  of  God  are  frequently  styled  "  poor  and 
wretched."  For  them  many  sources  of  pain  open  themselves 
up,  which  the  world  does  not  know  :  in  all  the  sufibrings 
which  befal  them  they  confess  a  visitation  of  their  sins,  and 
receive  them  as  a  token  of  God's  wrath :  they  do  not  try  to 
distract  their  minds  nor  give  themselves  up  to  illusions,  they 
do  not  gild  over  their  misery  but  take  up  their  cross  willingly: 
and  finally  they  are  hated  by  the  world  because  God  has 
chosen  them  out  of  the  world.     That  these  miserable  ones 


*  The  meaning  of  the  verse  was  accurately  given  by  Cartwright :  "  Quod  ob 
rem  tantulam,  qua}  tarn  parabllis  est,  nosmet  tantopere  cruentamus,  nosque 
anxiis  laboribus  et  intempestivis  curis  conficimus.— Cum  omnia,  qua;  quis  im- 
probo  labore  parat  ad  victum  et  cultum  corporis  referantur,  sitque  natura  paucis 
contenta,  insanam  prorsus  et  prodigiosan!  hanc  habendi  inexplebilem  cupidita- 
tem  esse,  necesse  est. — Deus  os  nostrum,  in  quod  alimenta  ingerimus,  perangus- 
tum  finxit:  habendi  cupiditas  tamen  tam  late  diffunditur,  ac  si  os  nostrum 
gurgitis  et  voraginis  cujusdam  instar,  Jordanis  fluvio  uno  haustu  absorbendo 
idoneumesset;  aut  siLeviathanis  os  illis  obtigisset,  in  quod  plaustrum  cum  suis 
qui  illud  trahunt  equis  recipitur  :  ventriculus  cum  longitudine  et  latitudine  vix 
sit  palmaris,  illi  tamen  farciendo  ita  omnes  nerves  suos  intendit  cupiditas  acsi 
plus  quam  dolearis  esset." 


]54  CHAPTER  VI. 

should  alsa  be  assailed  by  earthly  desires  is  the  more  to  be 
wondered  at  since  "  they  know  to  walk  before  the  living," 
since  they  are  the  nation  of  revelation,  the  only  people  on  the 
wide  earth  to  whom  God  has  given,  in  his  law,  a  rule  to  re- 
gulate their  conduct.  Compare  Deuteronomy  iv.  5,  6  :  "  Be- 
hold I  teach  you  to-day  statutes  and  judgments,  even  as  the 
Lord  my  God  commanded  me :  and  ye  shall  keep  them  and 
do  them,  for  that  is  your  wisdom  and  your  understanding  in 
the  sight  of  the  nations,  which  shall  hear  all  these  statutes 
and  say,  surely  this  great  nation  is  a  wise  and  understanding 
people:"  also  Psalm  cxlvii.  19,  20 — "He  sheweth  His  word 
to  Jacob,  his  statutes  and  his  judgments  unto  Israel.  He  does 
not  deal  so  with  any  heathen,  and  his  judgments,  they  know 
them  not."  The  reverse  of  those  who  know  to  walk  before 
the  living,  are  "  the  fools  who  do  not  know  to  go  into  the 
city,"  (chap.  x.  15)  the  heathen. 

Ver.  9.  nxiD  is  universally  the  object  of  sight,  that  which 
is  seen  :  so  in  Leviticus  xiii.  1 2, — "  according  to  all  the  sight 
of  the  eyes  of  the  priest,"  that  is,  according  to  all  that  is  seen 
by  the  eyes  of  the  priest.  Seeing  that  man  can  so  easily  have 
a  sufficiency,  it  is  better  to  rejoice  in  that  which  lies  before 
his  eyes,  however  trivial  it  may  be,  than  to  wander  away  into 
the  clouds  with  our  desires,  (/xjj  /jATBupl^ssh,  Luke  xii.  29,)  and 
to  vex  ourselves  with  plans  and  hopes  which  very  easily  de- 
ceive, and  even  if  fulfilled  bring  us  no  real  happiness.  The 
Berleburger  Bible  says  :  "  this  is  the  wandering  of  the  soul 
which  then  runs  about  amongst  the  creatures,  and  like  an 
Esau  hunts  in  the  fields  of  this  world  for  the  good  food  which 
wisdom  finds  only  at  home  and  in  the  calmness  of  content- 
ment." Luther  remarks, — "  Solomon's  opinion  is,  that  it  is 
better  to  make  use  of  that  which  lies  before  our  eyes,  that  is, 
of  what  is  now  at  hand,  than  that  the  soul  go  wandering  to 
and  fro.  Solomon's  will  is  that  we  make  use  of  the  present, 
thank  God  for  it,  and  not  think  of  anything  else— like  the 
dog  in  .^sop  which  snapped  at  the  shadow  and  let  the  flesh 
fall.  What  he  intends  then  is  that  we  should  use  that  which 
God  has  given  before  our  eyes,  that  which  is  now  here,  and  be 
content  therewith  and  not  follow  our  own  soul  which  is  never 
satisfied  :  as  he  said  before.  Let  every  Christian  then  abide 
by  that  which  he  has,  which  God  gives  him  just  now :    that 


CHAPTER  VI.  155 

pleases  him  :  "but  the  godless  are  not  so  :  on  the  conti-ary,  all 
that  they  see  is  a  torment  to  them,  because  they  do  not  make 
use  of  the  present,  bvit  their  soul  runs  hither  and  thither  and 
everywhere  and  is  never  satisfied.  Consequently,  when  a  god- 
less man  has  money,  it  does  not  suffice  him,  he  uses  it  not,  hut 
desires  more  :  if  he  has  a  wife,  he  is  not  content,  but  wants 
another  :  if  he  has  a  whole  kingdom  he  is  unsatisfied  :  like 
Alexander  the  Great  whom  a  world  could  not  satisfy,  Solo- 
mon therefore  forbids  the  soul  running  to  and  fro,  as  it  is  said 
in  the  Hebrew,  that  is,  we  are  not  to  be  always  weaving  our 
thoughts  together  into  plans.  And  the  sum  is  this — use  the 
present :  for  that  also  is  vanity  and  vexation,  to  wit,  when 
the  soul  wanders  thus  restlessly  about." 

Ver.  ]  0.  What  he  is — he,  namely,  to  whom  reference  is 
here  made — :  Long  ago  ivas  his  name  named  :  that  we  are 
told  by  the  name  long  ago  given  to  him.  There  is  a  reference 
here  to  Genesis  v.  2, — "  and  he  called  their  name  man,  on  the 
day  on  which  they  were  created."  In  this  name  is  expressed 
the  imjyotence  of  man.  He  describes  men  as  earthly,  because 
they  are  taken  from  the  earth,  (Genesis  ii.  7,)  and  because 
they  must  return  to  it,  (chap.  iii.  19.)  The  article  in  Pi''pnn 
which  occasioned  difficulty  to  the  Masorite  is  quite  regular. 
Hitzig  remarks,  "  the  meaning  is  not  that  a  man  cannot  fight 
with  a  stronger  (e.  g.  man,)  but  that,  man  cannot  struggle  with 
the  particular  person  who  surpasses  men,  namely,  God."  Paul 
appears  to  allude  to  this  passage  in  1  Corinthians  x.  22,  /mtj 
h^vpoTipoi  a-jTOj  'i(S[Miv :  the  practical  conclusion  thereffom  is 
the  uncertainty  of  riches,  the  a^jjX&Vjjc  '^rXovrov  ;  and  our  duty, 
evidently  is,  not  to  set  our  hopes  upon  them  but  upon  the 
living  God,  (1  Timothy  vi.  17,)  not  to  strive  after  riches,  but 
to  endeavour  to  stand  well  with  our  Creator.  Inasmuch  as 
man  is  absolutely  dependent  on  God,  he  ought  not  to  engage 
in  many  distracting  occupations,  he  should  not  vex  himself 
with  cunning  and  violent  modes  of  obtaining  riches,  because 
he  cannot  protect  what  he  has  gained,  and  knows  not  but 
that  at  any  moment  he  may  hear  the  call,  "  thou  fool,  this 
night  will  thy  soul  be  required  of  thee."  How  foolish,  then,  to 
envy  the  heathen  that  wealth  which  may,  like  the  flower  of 
the  field,  so  soon  fade  away,  (James  i.  10,  11.) 

Ver.  11.  For  there  are  many  things  that  increase  vanity. 


156  CHAPTER  VI. 

DniT  in  tlie  sense  of  "words"  does  not  suit  the  connection. 
More  property,  more  vanity.  That  is  as  certain  as  that  man 
is  not  the  lord  of  his  own  life,  but  is  absolutely  dependent  on 
a  higher  power.  What  did  it  help  the  Persian  that  he  had 
subdued  a  great  part  of  the  world  and  had  appropriated  its 
treasures  to  himself?  When  Alexander  came  and  violently 
assailed  the  two-horned  ram  of  the  Persian,  Empire,  (Daniel 
viii.  6,)  it  became  evident  that  it  had  only  increased  vanity. 
The  same  thing  takes  place  in  great  commercial  crises.  Cart- 
wright  says — "  quam  ob  rem  animum  ad  studium  pietatis 
convertamus,  quae  ad  omnia  utilis  est  et  promissiones  habet 
prsesentis  et  futures  vitoe,  (1  Timothy  iv.")  What  more  has 
man  ?  The  rich  have  not  in  reality  more  than  the  poor.  For 
their  advantages  turn  out,  on  a  closer  examination,  to  be  mere 
delusion  and  vanity :  and  they  vanish  as  soon  as  the  judg- 
ments of  God  go  abroad  in  the  world. 

Ver.  1 2.  The  question — For  who  knoweth  what  is  good  for 
nnan  in  life  1 — refers  not  only  to  earthly  goods,  but  to  eternal, 
to  the  true  and  real  goods.  (Luke  xvi.  11,)  whose  possession 
is  in  all  circumstances  desirable.  This  is  clear  from  the  connec- 
tion with  the  foregoing  enquiry — "what  more  has  man?"  (of 
these  things?)  For  who  knows  what?  The  words — forthenumber 
of  the  days  of  his  vain  life,  which  he  sj^ends  like  a  shadoiu — (iqdo 
must  be  supplied  with  n  from  D'-Tin ;  that  the  days  can  be 
counted,  is  a  sign  of  the  shortness  of  the  duration  of  life  ;  com- 
pare chap.  V.  1 7,)  are  meant  to  teach  vis  that  the  shorter  our  life 
the  more  important  is  it  that  we  should  not  feed  ourselves 
with  wind  and  ashes.  In  this  shadowy  existence  we  should  not 
hunt  after  unsubstantial  shadows.  The  fleeting,  quickly  van- 
ishing shadow  is  an  image  of  the  transitoriness  and  short-lived- 
ness  of  man.  Biichner  remarks — "  a  shadow  may  stretch  itself 
out  as  long  as  it  can,  but  when  the  sun  goes  down  it  vanishes 
and  leaves  nothing  behind  it."  Compare  chap.  viii.  13;  1 
Chronicles  xxix.  15, — "like  the  shadow  are  our  days  upon 
earth."  Psalm  ciii.  1 5, — "  man  is  in  his  life  like  grass  :  as  a 
flower  of  the  field,  so  he  flourisheth."  Psalm  cxliv.  4,  "  man 
is  like  to  vanity :  his  days  are  as  a  shadow  that  passeth 
away."  The  words,  "  for  who  can  tell  a  man  what  shall  be 
after  him  under  the  sun  ?"  contain  the  reason  for  the  aflirm- 
ation  that  riches  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  a  true  good.      Only 


CHAPTER  VI.  157 

on  one  condition  should  we  be  justified  in  treating  them  as 
important,  namely,  that  we  knew  the  future,  and  had  it  in  our 
power.  Some  accident  or  other  may  suddenly  rob  us  of  what 
we  have  gathered  with  so  much  toil.  Nay  more,  there  may 
come  a  great  catastrophe  which,  like  the  flood,  will  sweep 
everything  away.  After  him,  that  is,  after  his  present  con- 
dition (compare  chap.  iii.  22  ;  vii.  14.)  Several  have  falsely 
explained — "  after  his  death."  The  practical  conclusion  is,  that 
we  should  strive  after  true  possessions  :  ""*  and  then  that  we 
should  be  free  from  cares,  covetousness  and  envy,  content 
with  what  we  have,  however  little  it  may  be  :  ap-<sTeOB  rorg 
6-^uvioig  y/Muiv  (Luke  iii.  14.)  Rambach  observes:  "Ex  quibus 
omnibus  apparet,  nihil  melius  esse  quam  proscripta  turpi  ava- 
ritia  prsesentibus  contentum  esse,  iisque  cum  pia  et  licita 
hilaritate  frui."  Luther  remarks  .  "  the  hearts  of  men  strive 
after  various  kinds  of  things  :  one  seeks  power,  another  riches : 
but  still  they  know  not  whether  they  shall  obtain  them.  Nor 
do  they  make  use  of  God's  present  gifts,  but  their  heart  han- 
kers alone  and  always  after  that  which  they  have  not,  and 
cannot  yet  see.  He  does  not  speak  of  that  which  will  come 
after  this  life,  but  means  to  say,  that  no  man  knows  what 
will  happen  to  him  after  an  hour,  after  a  day,  or  after  a  year. 
Julius  Caesar  having  put  down  the  rest,  thought  that  then  he 
had  the  game  all  in  his  own  hands,  and  meant  to  set  the 
Roman  Empire  in  fine  order  :  but  at  the  very  moment  when 
he  was  revolving  his  plans,  he  was  killed  in  the  council  at 
Rome.  Why  then  do  we  vex  and  torment  ourselves  with  our 
own  thoughts,  when  future  things  are  not  a  single  moment  in 
our  power  ?  We  ought  consequently  to  be  content  with  that 
which  God  gives  us  each  moment,  and  commit  all  to  Him 
who  alone  is  acquainted  with,  and  is  able  to  regulate  both 
present  and  future." 


*  As  Paul  Gerhardt  sings : — 

"  Aber  was  die  Seele  nahrt 
Gottes  Huld  und  Christi  Blut 
Wird  von  Keiner  Zeit  verzehrt, 
1st  und  bleibet  allzeit  gut. 
Erdengut  zerfiiUt  und  bricht, 
Seelengut,  das  schwindet  nicht.** 


158  CHAPTER  VIL  1-10. 


CHAPTER  VII.  1-10. 


We  have  here  a  decalogue  of  instruction  on  the  sufferings 
of  the  people  of  God  and  of  consolation  and  admonition  in 
regard  thereto.  Attention  is  directed,  on  the  one  hand,  to 
the  fruit  of  righteousness  which  suffering  brings,  to  its 
blessed  termination  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  God's  people  is 
warned  not  to  perndt  itself  to  be  drawn  aside  to  murmurings. 

Human  existence  is  subjected  to  severe  sufferings  (ver.  1). 
But  these  sufferings  must  serve  the  best  interests  of  those 
who  love  God  (ver.  2-4).  The  miseiy  of  the  children  of  God 
is  better  than  the  happiness  of  the  world,  for  the  latter  is  the 
forerunner  of  impending  ruin  (ver.  5-7).  The  people  of  God, 
on  the  contrary,  if  they  are  only  patient  and  content  with 
the  leadings  of  their  God,  will  receive  the  best  at  the  end. 

Ver.  1.  Better  is  oiame  than  good  oil,  and  the  day  of 
death,  than  the  day  of  one's  birth.  Ver.  2.  It  is  better  to  go 
to  the  house  of  mourning  than  to  go  to  the  house  of  feasting, 
for  this  is  the  end  of  all  men,  and  the  living  lays  it  to  heart. 
Ver.  3.  Better  is  anger  than  laughter,  for  when  the  counte- 
nance looks  sad,  the  heart  becomes  merry.  Ver.  4.  The  heart 
of  the  wise  is  in  the  house  of  mourning,  and  the  heaH  of 
fools  in  the  house  of  mirth.  Ver.  5.  Better  is  it  to  hear  the 
rebuke  of  the  wise,  than  a  man  who  hears  the  song  of  fools. 
Ver.  6.  For  as  the  crackling  of  thorns  under  a  pot,  so  is  the 
laughter  of  fools,  and  this  also  is  vanity.  Ver.  7.  For  oppres- 
sion maketh  a  wise  man  mad,  and  a  gift  destroyeth  the 
heart.  Ver.  8.  Better  is  the  end  of  a  thing  than  the  begin- 
ning thereof :  better  the  patient  in  spirit  than  the  proud  in 
spirit.  Ver.  9.  Be  not  hasty  in  thy  spirit  to  be  angry,  for 
anger  resteth  in  the  bosom  of  fools.  Ver.  10.  Say  not  thou  : 
what  is  the  cause  that  the  former  days  were  better  than  these  ? 
for  with  wisdom  thou  dost  not  inquire  concsrning  this. 

Ver.  1.  Tlie  first  clause  has  no  internal  connection  what- 
ever with  the  second  :  the  means  adopted  to  point  out  such 
a  connection  have  been  plainly  artificial  and  farfetched.  The 
point  of  comparison  is  simply  this,  that,  in  the  first  case,  as 
well  as  the  second,  the   one   thins:  mentioned  is   better  than 


CHAPTER  VII.   1-10.  159 

the  other.  Jvist  in  the  same  way  is  the  point  of  comparison 
external  and  general  in  chap.  v.  2.  31D  occurs  oftener  in  this 
chapter  than  in  any  other  chapter  of  the  Old  Testament.  The 
first  clause  of  the  verse  is  based  on  Proverbs  xxii.  1 ,  "  name  is 
more  to  be  preferred  than  great  riches."  Here,  however,  the 
sentence  appears  to  be  more  pointed.  pC'  has  a  sound  some- 
thing hke  DC.  From  the  fundamental  passage  it  is  evident 
that  good  oil  is  considered  here  as  something  very  costly  and 
precious.  That  there  is  an  internal  nexus  between  the 
words  "  ointment "  and  "  name,"  we  should  be  led  to  think 
by  the  passage  in  the  Song  of  Solomon  i.  8,  where  }?D*kJ'  and 
DIJ'  are  in  like  manner  connected :  "  In  smell  are  thine  oint- 
ments good,  ointment  poured  forth  is  thy  name."  That  in 
the  first  clause  the  great  and  lovely  name  is  represented  under 
the  image  of  odorous  ointments,  is  expressly  said  in  the 
second  clause.  With  smell  is  connected  rumour  (German, 
Geruch,  and  Geriicht)  :  "  odores,"  says  Gesenius,  appeahng  to 
Exodus  V.  11,  "soBpe  ad  famam  transferuntur."  The  propo- 
sition which  is  here  of  primary  importance  is  formed  by  the 
words  :  "  and  the  day  of  death  is  better  than  the  day  of  one's 
birth."  By  the  day  of  death  we  are  to  understand  the  day 
when  one  dies  :  this  explains  the  suff!  The  day  of  death  is 
better  than  the  day  of  birth — so  speaks  the  author  to  such 
as  mourn  because  of  life's  lost  happiness.  He  does  not  wish 
to  persuade  them  to  feel  what  they  do  not  feel :  he  allows 
that  they  are  right  whenever  they  have  right  on  their  side. 
"  The  world  is  a  vale  of  tears,  and  everywhere  care,  trouble, 
fears  :" — ^that  is  an  undeniable  truth  about  which  we  may 
not  dispute  with  sufierers,  and  which,  above  all,  we  must 
concede,  if  we  mean  really  and  truly  to  comfort  them.  But 
this  assertion,  though  perfectly  true,  is  only  a  one-sided  truth, 
and  therefore  the  author  does  not  rest  satisfied  with  it ;  he 
goes  further,  and  in  connection  therewith  opens  up  afterwards 
points  of  view  which  throw  light  on  the  gloom  and  mystery 
of  suffering.  When  he  lays  down  this  proposition,  he  does 
not  deny  that  there  dwells  in  man  a  natural  love  of  life,  and 
that  fife  is  in  itself  a  good  thing,  (compare  chap.  ix.  4,  xi.  7) : 
he  does  not  deny  that  the  clear  light  of  divine  grace  shines 
into  the  darkness  of  this  earthly  life  (compare  chap,  ix,  7,  8) 
'"  go   thy  way,  eat  thy  bread  with  joy,  and  drink  thy  wine 


160  CHAPTER  VII.  1-10. 

with  a  merry  heart,  for  God  hath  pleasure  in  thy  works :" 
he  does  not  deny  the  infinite  value  of  suffering  as  a  school 
for  the  spirit  ;  he  sees,  on  the  contrary,  as  is  plainly  set  forth 
in  verses  2  ff ,  ("  the  day  of  death  is,  indeed,  better  than  the 
day  of  birth,  hut  yet  it  is  better  to  go  to  the  house  of  mourn- 
ing, etc."),  that  it  is  the  most  important  means  of  purification 
and  progress,  that  it  is  therefore  disguised  grace,  and  that  it 
constitutes  the  best  preparation  for  a  future  existence,  for  the 
day  when  the  spirit  shall  return  to  God,  who  gave  it  (chap. 
xii.  7).  Sayings  of  similar  import  we  find  also  in  heathen 
writers,*  with  this  difference,  however,  that  they  possessed 
no  key  to  such  sufferings,  that  they  were  unable  to  reconcile 
them  with  the  divine  righteousness  and  love,  and  that  they 
were  shut  out  from  a  knowledge  of,  and  approach  to,  those 
sources  of  consolation  which  are  revealed  in  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures. An  amplification  and  illustration  of  this  short  saying 
may  be  found  in  Job  iii.  and  Jeremiah  xx.  Compare  especi- 
ally Jeremiah  xx.  1  8 — "  Wherefore  came  I  forth  out  of  the 
womb  to  see  suffering  and  sorrow,  that  my  days  should  be 
consumed  with  shame  ?"  To  seek  happiness  in  this  earthly 
existence  has  been  considered,  ever  since  the  day  spoken  of 
in  Genesis  iii.,  as  identical  with  gathering  grapes  from  thorns 
and  figs  from  thistles.  The  right  sense  is  mistaken  by  those 
interpreters  who  suppose  that  death  comes  under  considera- 
tion here,  so  far  as  it  opens  the  way  to  eternal  life,  and  who 
compare  Philippians  i.  21,  23,  and  Revelations  xiv.  13. 
Amongst  them  is  Melancthon,  who  remarks :  "  ilia  ethnica, 
optimum  non  nasci  aut  quam  celerrime  aboleri  aliena  a 
doctrina  ecclesise  :"  and  the  Berleburger  Bible,  where  we  read 
— "  for  although  the  day  of  death  extinguishes  the  light  of 
this  life,  it  kindles  the  light  of  eternal  life  and  blessedness." 
Ver.  2.  That    the  house  of  mourning  is  one  in  which  a 

*  Grotius:  "Valerius  Miiximus  ii.  6 — 'Thracire  vero  ilia  natio  merito  sibi 
sapientiae  laiidem  vindicaverit,  qiiai  natales  hominum  flebiliter,  exequias  cum 
hilaritate  celebrans,  sine  uUis  doctorum  prreceptis  verum  conditionis  nostras 
habitum  pervidit.'  Mela  de  iisdcm  Thracibus :  '  Lugentur  apud  quosdam 
puerperia,  natique  deflentur ;  funera  conti'a  festa  sunt  et  veluti  sacra  cantu 
lusuque  celebrantur.'  De  iisdem  SoJinus:  'Apud  plurimos  luctuosa  sunt  puer- 
peria denique  recens  natum  fletu  paren.*!  excipit :  contraversum  Iseta  sunt  funera 
adeo  ut  exemtos  gaudio  prosequantur.'  Hanc  sententiam  Euripides  in  Cresi- 
phontem  suam  transtulit." 


CHAPTER  VII.   1-10.  161 

dead  man  is  being  mourned,  is  clear  from  what  follows,    ^ax, 
is  generally   used  of  mourning   for  the    dead.      Kin,  "  this " 
namely,  that  one  is  mourned  for,  that  one  dies.      The    com- 
mentary to  the  words — "  and  the  living  takes  it  to  heart "  — 
we   find   in   Psalm  xc.  11,    12.      From  the   contemplation  of 
death  we  recognise  "  the  power  of  the  anger  of  God,"  and  by 
this  knowledge  we  are   led  to  regard  with   due   earnestness 
the  sin  which  called  forth  such  anger.      The  relation  of  this 
verse  to  the  preceding  is  as  follows  :   Great,  in  truth,  are  the 
sufferings  of  this  life,  as    Israel  must  now,  through  painful 
experience,  acknowledge,  but  for  him  who  knows  how  rightly 
to  use  them,  they  will  bear  rich  fruit.      Israel  was  then  in 
the   house   of  mourning,   their  heathen   tyrants  were  in  the 
house  of  feasting  :    (compare  chap.  x.  19,  where  a  description 
is  given  of  their  wanton  revels.)      But,  if  they  only  know  the 
time  of  their  visitation,  the  happiness  is  on  their  side,  not  on 
that  of  their  oppressors.     If,   in  their  mournful  circumstances, 
in  the   devastations  which  death  had   already  made  amongst 
the  people  of  God,  they  see  the  divine  anger  against  sin,  they 
will  gain  a  "  wise   and  understanding  heart "  which  is  itself 
the  highest  blessing  on  earth  and  the  condition   of  all  other 
blessings.      Times  of  misfortune  are   times   of  happiness  for 
the    church.      Melancthon    says — "  In   rebus    secundis   Hunt 
homines  negligentiores,   minus   cogitant  de  ira  dei  et  minus 
.expectant   auxiUum  dei,  deinde  fiunt  et   insolentiores,  confi- 
dunt   sua  industria,  sua  potentia  et  facile  impelluntur  a  dia- 
bolo.      Ideo  ex  illo  fastigio   postea  ruunt  in   magnas  calami- 
tates,  juxta   illud  :    tolluntur    in  altum   ut    lapsu    graviore 
ruunt.     Et  contra  ajrumna?  sunt  commonefactiones  de  nostra 
infirmitate,  et  de  petendo  auxilio  dei.     Et  sunt  frenum  mul- 
tarum  cupiditatum.      Ideo  ecclesia  subjecta  est  cruci." 

Ver.  3.  With  regard  to  DVD,  "  anger,  indignation,  chagrin," 
not  "  sorrow,"  compare  what  is  said  in  Psalm  vi.  8  ;  x.  1 4. 
Anger  is  here  recommended:  in  verse  9,  it  is  condemned. 
Tlie  indignation  which  is  usually  called  forth  by  sufferings,  is 
at  once  good  and  evil — good  when  it  is  directed  against  one's 
own  sin  ;  evil  when  it  is  directed  against  God  and  the  instru- 
ments of  His  righteousness.  Compare  Lamentations  iii.  39, 
"  Wherefore  do  the  people  murmur  thus  in  life  ?  Each  one 
murmurs  against  his  sin."     The  anger  which  is  here  recom- 

L 


102  CHAPTER  VII.   1-10. 

mended  is  'in  substance,  in  essence,  repentance.  It  leads  to 
the  confession,  "  We,  we  have  sinned  and  been  rebellious : 
therefore  hast  thou  not  spared,"  (Lamentations  iii.  42).  n"'3D  jn 
which  signifies  strictly — "the  badness  of  the  countenance" — 
is  used  in  the  sense  of  "sadness"  only  in  one  other  place, 
namely,  in  Nehemiah  ii.  2,  "  Why  is  thy  countenance  sad, 
seeing  thou  art  not  sick  ?  this  is  nothing  else  but  sorrow  of 
heart,"  nh  V).  Countenance  and  heart  are  put  in  contrast  with 
each  other  there  also,  but  in  such  a  way  that  the  condition  of 
the  latter  is  known  from  that  of  the  former ;  whereas  here 
the  heart  wears  a  different  look  from  that  of  the  countenance. 
ID""  when  used  of  the  heart,  means  always  "  to  be  joyful, 
merry."  This  merriness,  however,  is  one  which  arises  from 
improvcraent  By  the  contrast  drawn  between  the  counte- 
nance and  the  heart  we  are  told,  that  sadness  sits  more  on  the 
surface,  takes  possession  of  the  outworks,  whilst  on  the  contrary 
peace  and  joy  reign  within.  The  happiness  which  the  world 
gives  causes  the  countenance  to  be  radiant,  but  leaves  the 
lieart  in  an  evil  state.  True  joy  is  only  there  where  the 
heart  stands  in  a  right  relation  to  God  and  His  commands. 
Inasmuch,  therefore,  as  suffering  helps  to  put  us  into  such  a 
relation  : — as  the  Berleburger  Bible  says — "  God's  image  is 
often  formed  in  suffering" — it  is  a  means  of  attaining  to  true 
joy.  In  consonance  with  this  passage  the  apostle  says  in  2 
Corinthians  vi.  1 0 — ojg  Xwrou/j^ivoi,  au  hi  yaipovTig :  and  further 
also  in  2  Corinthians  vii.  10 h  yap  -/.ara   &shv  Xv'rri  /j:,irdvoidv  slg 

auTriplav  a/xira/jLsXrirov  Kanpydt^irai.  If  suffering  works  repent- 
ance it  must  also  make  joyful :  for  the  heart  becomes  glad  so 
sobn  as  it  is  in  its  true  and  normal  condition. 

Ver.  4.  TJte  heart  of  the  ivise,  that  is,  of  the  genuine  mem- 
bers of  the  kingdom  of  God,  is  in  the  house  of  mourning,  that 
is,  the  wise  stay  willingly,  gladly,  there.  The  willing  assump- 
tion of  the  cross  distinguishes  the  children  of  God  from  the 
world.  They  are  able  to  call  the  cross,  "  dear  cross  !"  Where- 
as, to  the  world,  suffering  is  a  horror  and  an  abomination. 
Jerome  institutes  a  comparison  here  with  the  beatitude  of  the 
■jrsvc/oDvng  in  Matthew  v.  4.  The  sorrowful,  however,  are  such 
as  have  their  hearts  in  the  house  of  mourning.  Others  drive 
it  out  of  their  minds  and  seek  relief  in  dissipations. 

Ver.  5.  Better  is  it  to  hear  the  rebuke  of  the  ivise,  as  Israel 


CHAPTER  VII.  1-10.  1G3 

was  now  compelled  to  hear  the  voice  of  its  prophets,  reproach- 
ing it  with  its  sins  on  the  ground  of  its  misery.  The  rebuk- 
ing wise  man  is  set  before  us  for  example  in  Malachi,  whose 
prophecies  bear  the  inscription,  "  the  burden  of  the  word  of 
the  Lord,"  and  further  in  this  book  also  (compare  chap.  iv.  17; 
V.  5).  That  the  rebuke  found  its  point  of  departure  in  the 
suffering  of  him  who  was  its  object,  and  that  in  fact  the  re- 
buke was  a  kind  of  commentaiy  on  the  suffering,  was  perceived 
even  by  S.  Schmidt,  who  says,  "  intelliguntur  sermones,  qui  a 
sapiente  in  domo  luctus  habentur."  Than  a  man  who  hears 
the  song  of  fools.  The  man  must  be  conceived  as  himself  also 
singing,  as  in  fact,  a  member  of  a  merry  society  of  the  children 
of  this  world.  The  Persians  were  at  that  time,  the  singing 
fools.  Tliat  a  distinction  is  to  a  certain  extent  made  here 
between  the  man  and  the  fools,  would  lead  us  to  conclude  that 
the  thought  is  the  following, — that  Israel,  although  in  suffer- 
ing and  compelled  to  submit  to  rebukes,  is  better  off  than  if 
it  luxuriated  with  the  world  in  pleasure  and  mirth. 

Ver.  6.  Tlie  words — For  as  the  crackling  of  thorns  under 
a  pot,  so  is  the  laughter  of  fools — are  based  on  Psalm  cxviii. 
1 2,  where  Israel,  being  under  the  rule  of  the  Persians,  says — 
"They  (the  heathen)  compassed  me  about  like  bees,  they  are 
quenched  as  the  fire  of  thorns  :  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  V/^ill 
I  destroy  them."  Between  the  happiness  or  good  fortune  of 
the  heathen  and  the  fire  of  thorns,  the  point  of  comparison  is 
that  both  alike  violently  blaze  up,  and  are  quickly  exting-uished. 
In  the  fundamental  passage  just  quoted  we  find  D"'^p  J^s-  Here 
D''"i''D  is  chosen  because  of  the  play  on  the  word  :  Hke  the  play 
between  p\y  and  ntJ'in  ver.  1,  where  a  passage  found  ready  to 
hand  in  Proverbs  is  made  somewhat  more  concise  and  pointed. 
More  point  is  perhaps  gained  also  by  the  description  of  the 
happiness  of  fools  as  laughter.  Between  crackling  and  gig- 
gling there  is  a  certain  similarity  of  sound  ;  there  is  signifi- 
cance therefore  in  the  designation,  "the  voice  of  thorns."  Under 
the  pot,  which  J.  D.  Michaelis  considered  intolerable,  serves  to 
render  the  description  more  vivid  and  real,  because  thorn  fires 
were  usually  made  in  such  a  position.  See  Psalm  Iviii.  9, 
"Before  your  pots  can  feel  the  thorns:"  where  thorns  are 
evidently  used  for  making  a  fire  under  the  pots.  And  also 
this,  namely,  the  laughter  of  fools,  the  happiness  of  the  heathen, 
is  vanity,  like  so  much  else  in.  this  world  of  illusions,  and  is 


lG-4  CHAPTER  VII.   1-10. 

consequently  not  a  fit  object  of  envy.  Considered  more  care- 
fully Israel  is  happier  than  the  heathen  world,  "for  the  exulta- 
tion of  the  wicked  is  short,  and  the  joy  of  the  impious  is  but 
for  a  moment.  Though  his  greatness  mount  up  to  the  heavens, 
and  his  head  reach  unto  the  clouds,  yet  he  perishes  for  ever 
like  his  own  dung,  and  they  which  see  him  say — where  is  he  ?" 
(Job  XX.  5,  7).  The  words,  "  this  also  is  vanity,"  have  been 
historically  fulfilled  and  confirmed  in  the  utter  and  complete 
disappearance  of  the  Persian  monarchy,  whereas  Israel  stiU 
blooms  and  flourishes  on  in  the  Christian  Church.  Luther 
remarks — "  Virgilius  says,  fire  in  the  stubble  crackles  veiy 
much,  but  has  no  force,  contains  no  heat,  and  is  soon  extin- 
guished. So  also  is  the  laughter  and  the  mirth  of  fools  :  it 
looks  as  if  it  would  last  for  ever,  and  blazes  up  high,  but  is 
nothing  at  all.  One  moment  they  have  their  consolation  ;  the 
next  comes  a  misfortune  which  casts  them  down  to  the  ground  : 
and  so  all  the  joy  lies  in  the  ashes.  This,  therefore,  accords 
admirably  with  that  which  was  said  shortly  before,  "  and  this 
also  is  vanity."  The  joy  and  false  worldly  consolation  of  the 
flesh  do  not  last  long,  and  all  such  joy  ends  in  sadness  and 
evil." 

Ver.  7.  The  reason  is  here  assigned  why  the  happiness  of 
fools  is  so  short.  They  work  their  own  ruin.  Sin  deprives 
them  of  their  understanding,  and  when  that  has  vanished  de- 
struction cannot  be  far  off.  First  the  mens  sana  is  lost,  and 
then  follows  ruin.  First  tho  soui  dies  out,  and  afterwards  the 
body  is  cast  on  the  flaying  ground.  Parallel  is  Proverbs  xv. 
27,  "he  that  is  greedy  of  gain  destroyeth  his  own  house,  and 
he  that  hateth  gifts  shall  live."  For  opj^ression  maketh  the 
wise  man  mad.  p^^,  "  oppression,"  as  exercised  by  the  Per- 
sian tyrants  (Psalm  Ixii.  1 0).  Oppression  befools,  makes  mad  : 
every  tyranny  has  a  demoralizing  influence  on  him  who  wields 
it ;  it  deadens  all  higher  intelligence,  and  takes  away  conse- 
quently the  preservative  against  destruction.  "  The  wise  man" 
here  is  not  one  who  is  still  such,  but  who  ought  \o  be,  and 
might  be,  and  has  in  part  been  such.  "  The  wise  man" — so 
might  the  Persian  still  be  designated  at  the  time  of  Cyrus. 
And  a  gift  destroyeth  the  heart.  Under  oriental  tyrannies 
everything  was  to  be  had  for  presents.  According  to  the 
parallel.  "  befools,  makes  mad,"  the  heart  is  brought  under  con- 


CHAPTER  VII.   1-10.  165 

sideration  as  the  seat  of  the  understanding  :  compare  Jeremiah 
iv.  9,  "  and  it  shall  come  to  pass  at  that  day  that  the  heart 
of  the  king  shall  perish  and  the  heart  of  the  princes,"  that  is, 
they  shall  lose  their  prudence,  their  power  of  reflection. 

Ver.  8.  Better  is  the  end  of  a  thing  than  the  beginning  : 
The  thought  is  quite  correctly  presented  by  Melancthon, 
"  Quamquam  enim  multa  patienda  sunt  tamen  vincit  tandem 
causa  honesta  : "  "  All's  well  that  ends  well,"  and  whoso  laughs 
the  last,  laughs  the  best.  This  is  assuredly  very  consolatory 
for  the  people  of  God,  for  the  end  belongs  to  them  so  certainly 
as  God  belongs  to  them.  The  proposition  is  here  expressed 
generally,  that  whoso  has  the  end  of  a  thing  in  his  favour,  for 
whomsoever  the  end  of  a  business  turns  out  well,  is  better  off 
than  he  to  whom  the  beginning  belongs.  The  commencement 
of  that  which  is  here  treated  of  was  on  the  side  of  the  heathen 
world,  for  in  the  present  Israel  served,  and  the  heathens  ruled. 
By  the  end  we  must  understand  a  fortunate  happy  end,  inas- 
much as  a  bad  end  cannot  be  called  an  end  at  all.  So  also 
on  the  same  subject  in  Psalm  xxxvii.  S7,  38,  "  mark  the  pious 
and  behold  the  upright  man,  for  a  future  has  the  man  of 
peace.  But  the  transgressors  shall  be  destroyed  together,  the 
future  of  the  wicked  will  be  extirpated :"  the  meek  man  has 
an  end,  a  future  :  whereas  the  wicked  who  are  swept  away  in 
the  half  of  their  days,  (Psalm  Iv.  23,)  are  violently  robbed  of 
their  end  or  of  their  future.  So  also  Proverbs  xxiii.  1 7  ;  Jere- 
miah xxix.  11, — "for  I  know  the  thoughts  that  I  think  to- 
wards you,  thoughts  of  peace  and  not  of  evil,  to  give  you  an 
end  and  hope."  The  main  passage  in  which  an  end  is  denied 
to  the  heathen  is  Numbers  xxiv.  20,  where  it  is  said  of 
Amalek, — "  his  end  is  destnaction."  "  Behold,  the  end  of  the 
heathen  is  a  wilderness,  a  dry  land  and  a  desert"  says  Jeremiah 
in  chap.  1.  1 2.  The  formula  with  which  the  prophets  open 
their  proclamations  of  redemption  is  based  on  the  idea  that 
only  the  beginning  of  the  times  belongs  to  the  heathen 
world,  the  end  on  the  contrary  to  the  people  of  God.  Better 
is  the  patient  in  spirit  than  the  proud  m  spirit.  Between  nn 
Tin,  which  occurs  only  in  this  place,  and  D''DN  "TIN,  ^paUc  sig 
opyyj,  (James  i.  19,)  there  is  no  difference,  as  is  evident  from 
the  fact  that  its  contrast  in  ver.  9  is  Anger,  Dya.  Accordingly, 
we  must  understand  by  "patience  of  spirit"  the  opposite  ol 


1G6  CHAPTER  VII.   1-10. 

"  passionate  excitement,"  which  bursts  forth  against  God  in 
times  of  suffering  and  leads  to  arbitrary  endeavours  to  help 
oneself  The  patient  in  spirit  is  the  true  Israelite  :  the 
heathen  is  the  proud  in  spirit.  The  former  is  better  off,  for 
the  patient  man  has  the  end  as  his  portion  :  pride  on  the 
contrarj^  either  comes  before  a  fall  or  is  unable  to  avert  it. 
If  Israel  have  the  end  on  their  side,  all  they  can  do  is  to  wait; 
and  he  who  can  wait  till  the  end  must  certainly  attain  re- 
demption, (compare  Lamentations  iii.  24  ff.)  As  the  heathen 
power  has  no  future  it  can  effect  nothing,  notwithstanding 
all  its  pride. 

Ver.  9.  Be  not  hasty  in  thy  spirit  to  he  angry.  Tlie  anger 
or  wrath  is  to  be  conceived  as  directed  against  God  and  the 
evil  doers  favoured  by  Him,  that  is,  in  this  present  case,  against 
the  heathen  ;  compare  Psalm  xxxvii.  1,  2,  8.  For  anger  resteth 
in  the  bosom  of  fools,  who  onl}^  look  at  the  present  and  at 
once  fall  into  error  with  regard  to  God  and  his  providence  if 
things  go  otherwise  than  in  their  view  they  ought  to  do.  It 
is  folly  to  fix  the  attention  only  on  that  which  lies  directly 
before  our  eyes,  to  speak  wisdom  in  presence  of  the  good  for- 
tune of  the  wicked  :  "  as  gTass  shall  they  be  cut  down,  and 
as  the  gi-een  herb  shall  they  wither,"  and,  "  evil  doers  shall  be 
rooted  out,  but  they  that  wait  on  the  Lord  shall  possess  the 
land."  If  we  only  do  not  make  haste  to  be  angry,  the  Lord  will 
in  his  own  good  time  remove  all  occasions  to  wrath  out  of  the 
way.  As  the  Berleburger  Bible  says  :  "  blessed,  on  the  con- 
trary, is  he  who  in  all  the  events  of  life  maintains  a  calm 
patience,  equips  himself  with  a  spirit  of  humble  submissive- 
ness  and  magnanimous  contentment,  accommodates  himself  to 
good  and  evil  times  alike,  and  ever  derives  strength  and 
quickening  from  the  petition, — "  thy  will  be  done." 

Ver.  1 0.  Say  not  thou,  what  is  the  cause  that  the  former 
days  were  better  than  these,  meaning,  "why  is  it  so,  how  is 
such  a  downfall  of  His  people  consistent  with  the  love  and 
righteousness  of  God  ?"  Luther's  remark,  which  starts  from  the 
view  that  the  words  were  directed  against  the  "  laudatores 
temporis  acti," — "  Say  not  thou,  it  has  been  better  ;  for  it  has 
never  gone  right  everywhere  in  the  world," — overlooks  the 
force  of  the  expression,  "  what  is  it,  that,  ovhy,  is  it  so  ?" 
Those  whom  the  author  had  in  view  are  described  in  ver.  1 6 


CHAPTER  VII.  ]  -1 0.  167 

of  the  Epistle  of  Jude,  as  yoyy\j<srai^  [Mi[i-^iiioipo,.  The  contem- 
porary Malachi  introduces  them  in  chap.  ii.  1 7,  as  speaking  : 
"  Ye  weary  the  Lord  with  your  words,  and  yet  ye  say,  wherein 
do  we  weary  Him  ?  When  ye  say,  every  one  that  doeth  evil 
is  good  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  and  He  delighteth  in  them ; 
or,  where  is  the  God  of  judgment?"  So  also  in  chap.  iii.  14, 
1 5,  "  ye  say,  it  is  vain  to  serve  God,  and  what  profit  is  it  that 
we  keep  his  ordinance  and  walk  in  filth  before  the  Lord  of 
Hosts.  And  now  we  call  the  proud  happy,  (that  is,  the 
heathen,)  built  up,  (that  is  fortunate,)  are  the  workers  of 
iniquity,  they  tempt  God  and  notwithstanding  escape."  For 
with  luisdoni  thou  dost  not  inquire  concerning  this.  The  wise 
man  sees  in  the  suflferings  of  the  people  of  God  the  deserved 
punishment  of  their  sins,  and  says,  "  It  is  the  goodness  of  the 
Lord  that  we  are  not  utterly  lost,  but  the  Lord  does  not  cast 
off  for  ever,  he  has  compassion  again  according  to  his  great 
kindness."  Wisdom  at  the  same  time  recognises  that  afflictions 
are  only  temporal,  and  that  temporal  tribulations  have  a  good 
foundation.  Here,  therefore,  wisdom  appears  as  the  soul  of 
patience.* 


CHAPTER  VII,   11-12. 

Koheleth  proceeds  now  to  comfort  Israel,  by  directing  their 
thoughts  to  the  treasure  of  wisdom  left  to  them,  which  was 
a  pledge  of  the  restoration  of  that  which  had  been  lost.  It  is 
impossible  that  a  people  which  can  claim  wisdom  as  its  own 
possession  should  be  for  ever  subjected  to  death. 

Ver.  11.  Wisdom  is  good  as  an  inheritance,  and  still  better 
for  those  who  see  the  sun.  Ver.  12.  For  in  the  shadow  of 
wisdom  in  the  shadow  of  silver  ;  hut  the  excellency  of  know- 
ledge is,    Wisdom  giveth  life  to  him  that  hath  it. 

Ver.  11.  The  words  "wisdom  is  good,"  take  up  again  the 
niD^no  of  ver.  1 0.     The  mention  of  wisdom  there  occasions  the 


*  Cartwright  says,  "  Pror.  iii.,  eodem  modo  patientiam  sapientiae  appellatione 
describit.  Nam  cum  v.  11,  12,  ad  patientiam  in  perferendis  dei  castigationibus 
cohortatus  fuisset,  v.  13,  ad  corroborandam  banc  adhortationem  subjungit, 
beatum  esse  qui  sapientiam  assecutus  sit  et  Jac.  i.,  ad  patientiam  exstimulans 
V.  5,  subnectit,  sapientiam  banc  a  deo  ei  petendam  esse  qui  ilia  destituitur." 


168  CHAPTER  VII.   11-12. 

writer  to  seek  to  impress  the  soul  of  Israel  with  the  excellence 
of  the  possession  which  still  remains.  To  the  word  inheri- 
tance corresponds  the  word  silver  in  ver.  1 2.  It  is  conse- 
quently the  ])roperty.  As  regards  that,  the  children  of  Israel 
were  at  a  decided  disadvantage  compared  with  the  world. 
They  were  bondsmen  in  the  land  which  the  Lord  had  given 
them,  and  strangers  devoured  its  produce  ;  they  were  drained 
by  their  heathen  tyrants,  they  were  an  impoverished  people. 
For  the  inexperienced  this  must  have  been  a  source  of  severe 
temptations.*  Against  such  assaults,  Koheleth  here  offers  a 
ground  of  consolation.  •!•  He  relninds  them  that  they  still 
have  a  great  advantage  over  others  in  the  wisdom  which  is  a 
privilege  of  the  people  of  God,  which  can  be  found  nowhere 
on  earth  but  only  in  God,  (Job  xxviii ;  James  i.  5,)  and  in 
His  word  and  law  :  compare  Deuteronomy  iv.  5-6,  "  Behold 
I  teach  you  statutes  and  judgments,  as  the  Lord  my  God 
commanded  me  :  and  ye  shall  hold  and  do  them,  for  this  is 
your  wisdom  and  your  understanding  in  the  sight  of  the 
nations  : "  also  in  Proverbs  i.  7,  "  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is 
the  beginning  of  knowledge  :"  further,  chap.  ii.  6,  "  the  Lord 
giveth  wisdom,  out  of  his  mouth  cometh  knowledge  and  un- 
derstanding ;"  compare  lastly,  chap.  v.  18,  "  rejoice  in  the  wife 
of  thy  youth,"  where  by  the  wife  of  youth  we  are  to  under- 
stand ivisdom  which  had  stood  in  the  very  closest  relation  to 
Israel  from  the  first  commencement  of  his  existence,  and  chap, 
ii.  16,  where  folly  is  brought  forward  as  the  strange  woman, 
the  foreigner.  We  may  not  follow  the  example  of  the  Sep- 
tuagint  and  Vulgate,  and  explain — "  wisdom  is  good  united 
with  possessions."  Such  a  rendering  would  not  be  consistent 
with  the  posture  of  affairs  at  this  time,  when  Israel  was  des- 
titute of  possessions,  and  with  ver.  1 2,  which  represents  wis- 
dom and  money  as  having  different  owners.  The  word  dj? 
rather  expresses  the  idea  that  wisdom  may  enter  into  compe- 
tition, or  take  rank,  with  property  :    and  then  with  increased 

*  Melanchthon,  "  Scit  ecclesia  alias  esse  eausas  necis  Abel  et  alias  necis  Ab- 
salomis.  Sed  homines  sine  doctrina  ecclesiae  turbantur  his  exemplis,  ut  diibi- 
tent  de  providentia. 

t  This  point  of  view  is  recognised  also  by  Luther;  he  observes,  "here  Solomon 
closes  the  admonition  which  he  had  given,  to  strengthen  and  to  comfort  those 
who  were  in  danger  of  being  impatient  because  of  the  wickedness  of  the  world." 


CHAPTER  VIT.   11-12.  1  G  9 

force  -inr  adds  that,  in  fact,  wisdom  excels  property,  nnv  is 
properly  a  participle,  and  occurs  in  the  sense  "  over,  remaining," 
in  1  Samuel  xv.  16,  and  in  chap.  xii.  9  of  this  book.  Else- 
where it  is  always  used  as  an  adverb,  in  the  sense  of  "  more, 
very,  too,  too  much,  besides,  moreover."  So  in  chap.  ii.  15; 
vi.  8-11;  vii.  16;  xii.  12.  nnr  never  signifies  "advantage, 
gain."  The  meaning  "more"  is  required  further  by  the  argu- 
ment advanced  in  ver.  1 2,  where  the  justice  of  its  application 
to  wisdom  is  more  carefully  pointed  out.  In  Proverbs  iii.  1 4, 
also,  wisdom  is  represented  as  better  than  silver  and  gold.*  The 
children  of  men  are  described  in  chap.  vi.  5  ;  xi.  8  also,  as 
"  those  who  see  the  sun." 

Ver.  1  2.  This  verse  is  to  be  explained  as  follows, — "  for,  (if 
one  is)  in  the  shadow  of  wisdom,  (one  is  also)  in  the  shadow 
of  money,  not  less  safe  than  when  one  is  protected  by  money." 
Threatening  dangers  may  be  averted  quite  as  often  by  wisdom 
as  by  property.  The  reason  is  thus  given  for  setting  wisdom 
on  an  equality  with  property  (ver.  11).  Rightly  Symmachus, 
ffxs'zsi  aopia  ug  gxi'Trsi  to  dpyvpiov :  falsely  the  Vulgate,  "  sicut 
enim  protegit  sapientia  sic  protegit  pecunia."  Because  shadow 
affords  protection  against  heat, — one  of  the  greatest  plagues 
of  eastern  countries, — it  is  used  frequently  as  an  image  of 
protection  in  general,  and  with  the  gi'eater  fitness  since  all 
tribulations  are  represented  under  the  figure  of  heat. — In  the 
second  clause  the  reason  of  the  use  of  the  term  "more"  in  re- 
spect to  wisdom  (ver.  1 1)  is  assigned.  n>n  does  not  signify 
"  to  keep  in  life,"  a  thing  which  would  fall  under  the  category 
of  shadow,  and  which  gold,  also  in  certain  circumstances  is 
capable  of,  but  "  to  quicken,  to  call  back  to  life."  Israel  had 
then  fallen  into  the  hands  of  death,  but  the  treasure  which  they 
still  retained,  that  wisdom  from  above  which  still  dwelt 
amongst  them,  was  the  pledge  of  a  joyful  resurrection.  Wis- 
dom quickens,  gives  life,  because  the  grace  of  the  living  and 
life-giving  God  rests  on  the  wise  man.  The  principal  passage 
on  this  subject  is  Deuteronomy  xxxii.  89,  where,  in  regard  to 
Israel's  restoration  after  severe  tribulations,  it  is  said,  "  I  kill 
and  I  make  alive,  I  wound  and  I  will  heal."     In  the  Psalms  we 


*  Correctly  Eambach  :   hac  voce  (inV)  comparatio  sapientiiE,  cum  hareditate 
ita  continuatur  ut  sapientia  illi  etiam  prajferatur." 


170  CHAPTER  VII.   13,  14. 

find  nTi  often  used  of  the  restoration  to  life  of  Israel  when 
fallen  under  the  power  of  death,  as  also  of  a  merely  external 
restoration:  for  example,  Psalm  Ixxi.  20;  Ixxx.  18;  Ixxxv.  6; 
cxix.  25,  "  My  soul  cleaveth  to  the  dust,  quicken  thou  me 
according  to  thy  word."  In  Hosea  vi.  2,  it  is  said,  "  he  wiU 
revive  us  after  two  days :  on  the  third  he  will  raise  us  up 
that  we  may  live  before  him."  In  opposition  to  the  funda- 
mental and  the  parallel  passage,  as  well  as  against  usage, 
Knobel  explains  as  follows, — "  the  advantage  of  wisdom  con- 
sists therein,  that  it  gives  us  a  contented  and  cheerful  spirit," 
Elster,  "  an  inner  power,  a  rich  and  full  spiritual  life."  Com- 
pare besides,  Proverbs  iii.  1 8 — "  She  (namely.  Wisdom)  is  a 
tree  of  life  to  them  that  lay  hold  on  her,  and  happy  is  every 
one  that  retaineth  her : "  according  to  which,  the  life  which 
wisdom  gives,  is  identical  with  happiness. 


CHAPTER  VII.  13,  14. 

This  also  was  a  comfort  for  Israel,  that  in  their  sufferings 
no  less  than  in  their  happiness  they  must  recognize  the  arrange- 
ment of  God, — one,  too,  proceeding  from  well  considered 
counsel. 

Ver.  13.  Consider  the  work  of  God,  for  who  can  make  thai 
straight  which  he  hath  made  crooked  ?  Ver.  1 4.  In  the  day 
of  prosperity  be  joyful  and  in  the  day  of  adversity :  behold, 
God  hath  m^ade  this  even  as  that,  to  the  end  that  man  should 
not  find  anything  which  will  come  after  him. 

Ver.  1 3.  Behold  the  tvork  of  God, ;  most  men  see  it  not 
In  adversity  their  minds  remain  fixed  on  the  natural  causes, — 
hence  their  despair,  their  passionate  excitement,  and  their 
futile  attempts  to  help  themselves.  He  who  sees  God's  work 
attains  at  once  the  power  of  calm  self-command  and  of  quiet 
submission ;  he  says,  "  I  keep  silence  because  thou  hast  done 
it,"  (Psalm  xxxix.  9).  This  summons  to  consider  the  work 
of  God  is  then  justified  and  enforced  by  a  reference  to  its  lofti- 
ness and  significance  :  "  for  who  can  make  that  straight  which 
he  hath  made  crooked  ?"  (niy,  "  to  make  crooked,"  chap.  i.  1 5 ; 
xii.  3).  No  one  can  withstand  God  or  alter  His  determina- 
tions.    And  because  no  one  can  no  one  therefore  should  ivish 


CHAPTER  VII.  1  3,  1 4.  171 

it  We  ought  to  humble  ourselves  ivith  joy  beneath  the 
almighty  hand  of  God.  For,  as  the  Almighty  One  He  is  the 
sum  and  substance  of  all  wisdom,  all  love,  all  righteousness. 
Almighty  arbitrariness  is  inconceivable.* 

Ver.  1 4.  "  On  the  day  of  good  be  in  the  good,"  that  is,  be 
inwardly  in  a  good  state  when  thou  art  outwardly  prosperous, 
be  jpyful,  mt22  =  31D  n^n,  chap.  ix.  7,  compare  1  Kings  viii. 
The  explanation,  •'  be  prosperous,  occupy  thyself  with  it,  enjoy 
it,"  lays  too  strong  an  emphasis  on  the  word  n\n.  And  in 
the  day  of  adversity  behold,  instead  of,  "  then  also  be  thou  con- 
tent, for  behold."  The  correspondence  between  the  two  phrases, 
"  in  the  day  of  good,"  and  "  in  the  day  of  evil,"  plainly  impHes 
that  what  follows  will  teach,  at  all  events,  as  to  substance, 
how  we  ought  to  be  in  the  day  of  adversity.  This  corre- 
spondence is  unheeded  by  those  who  explain  the  Hebrew,* 
"  when  misfortune  befals  thee,  consider,  weigh,"  namely,  what 
follows.  Tlie  words  must  be  punctuated  thus — "  In  the  day 
of  adversity,  behold ;"  not,  "  In  the  day  of  adversity  behold" 
— that  is,  a  comma  should  be  inserted  after  "  adversity." 
Ewald  also  errs  in  the  same  way  when  he  explains,  "  And 
the  day  of  adversity  look  upon,  consider  it,  calmly."  To  con- 
tentment in  suffering  we  must  surely  be  aroused  by  the  con- 
sideration that  it  comes  from  the  same  God  who  sends  us  our 
prosperity,  as  Job  says — "  do  we  accept  the  good  from  God, 
and  shall  we  not  also  accept  the  evil  ?"  The  sender  being  the 
same,  there  must  be  a  substantial  resemblance  between  the 
various  things  sent,  notwithstanding  external  dissimilarity. 
God,  when  he  lays  the  cross  upon  us,  still  remains  God,  still 
continues  to  be  our  heavenly  Father,  our  Saviour,  who  has 
thoughts  of  peace  concerning  us  ;  what  He  does  is  well  done, 
and  however  heavily  the  burden  may  weigh  upon  us,  it  must 
prove  wholesome  in  the  end.  But  the  author  is  not  content 
with  merely  directing  the  mind  to  the  ordering  of  God  whose 
name  is  in  itself  a  balsam  for  the  wounds  of  the  heart.  He 
hints  also  at  the  motives  which  dictate  the  infliction  of  sufier- 


*  Cartwright  says,—"  Avis  laqueo  capta  tanto  arctius  constringitur,  quanto 
fortius  ut  se  expediat  luctatur.  Si  quis  igitur  dei  laqueo  irretitus  teneatur,nihil 
illi  tutius  est,  quam  ut  se  totum  dei  voluntati  permittat,  maxime  cum  in  suraraa 
ilia  potentia,  qua  instructus  est,  nihil  non  juste,  nihil  non  sapienter  facit,  Hi. 
xxxiv,  12." 


172  CHAPTER  VII.   1 5-1 8. 

ings.  God  causes  evil  days  to  alternate  with  good  ones,  to  the 
end  that  man  should  not  find  anything  ivhich  will  come  after 
him,  that  is,  in  order  that  he  may  not  be  able  to  fathom  anything 
which  lies  behind  his  present  condition.  (After hi7)i,  so  also  chap, 
iii.  23,  vi.  12).  He  is  thus  made  thoroughly  little,  thoroughly 
submissive  to  God  :  he  is  thus  prevented  from  setting  his 
heart  on  transitory  sources  of  happiness.  If  man  cannot  be 
certain  of  a  single  day  of  his  life,  he  must  surely  be  driven  to 
look  up  to  the  Lord  of  life,  mai  hv  which  means  strictly 
"on  a  matter,"  occurs  in  the  sense  "by  reason  of,"  in  chap, 
iii.  1 8 ;  viii.  2  ;  here  with  a  tj'  following  it  signifies  "  by  reason 
that  =  in  order  that."  With  precisely  the  same  force  we  find  n 
mm  bv  used  in  the  Chaldee  of  Daniel  ii.  30.  Out  of  Koheleth 
there  is  no  example  in  Hebrew  of  this  usage. 


CHAPTER  yn.  15-lS. 

At  the  time  of  the  author  bitter  complaints  were  raised 
that  Israel  must  suft'er,  despite  his  righteousness,  and  that 
the  heathen  had  the  upper  hand,  notwithstanding  their 
wickedness.  He  therefore  proves  that  the  righteousness 
which  complained  so  loudly  and  bitterly  because  of  the 
denial  of  its  reward,  was  but  another  form  of  ungodli- 
ness alongside  of  a  life  of  open  sin ;  he  justifies  God's  with- 
holding of  redemption,  and  teaches  that  those  whose  aim  it 
is  to  become  partakers  of  salvation  must  enter  on  a  new  way, 
even  that  of  a  true  and  genuine  fear  of  God.  Consolation  and 
admonition  here  go  hand  in  hand.  There  was  nothing  for 
Israel  but  to  err  with  regard  to  his  God,  and  thus  sink  into  the 
abyss  of  despair,  if  he  did  not  attain  to  a  knowledge  of  the 
true  nature  of  his  fancied  righteousness.  If  he  did  not  learn 
to  murmur  against  his  own  sin,  he  must  murmur  against  God. 

Ver.  15.  All  things  did  I  see  in  the  days  of  my  vanity : 
there  is  a  just  nnan  that  perisheth  in  his  righteousness,  and 
there  is  a  wicked  man  that  'maketh  it  long  in  his  wickedness. 
Ver.  16.  Be  not  righteous  overmuch,  neither  behave  thou  all 
too  wisely,  why  wilt  thou  destroy  thyself?  Ver.  17.  Be  not 
overmuch  wicked,  neither  he  thou  a  fool,  tvhy  wilt  thou  die 
before  thy  time  ?     Ver.  1 8.  It  is  good  that  thou  shouldest  take 


CHAPTER  VII.  15-18.  173 

hold  of  this,  and  also  that  from  that  thou  shouldst  not  ivith- 
draw  thine  hand :  he  that  feareth  God  shall  escape  from  all. 

Ver.  1 5.  All,  is  as  to  substance  so  much  as  "of  all  kinds,  vari- 
ous."    The  word  implies  that  sometimes  strange  enougli  things, 
such  too  as  one  would  scarcely  have  looked  for,  are  true  quid 
pro  quos.      Then  follows  a  remarkable  illusti-ation  of  the  curi- 
ous things  one  meets  with  in  life.      In  the  days  of  my  vanity  : 
so  Solomon  describes  the  days  of  his  life,  because  ever  since 
the  fall  human  existence  has  been  subjected  to  vanity.      This 
vanity  is  specially  to  be  recognised  in  that  which  is  adduced 
directly  afterwards  ; — namely,  that  so  frequently  a  righteous- 
ness worked  ovit  with  great  labour  produces  notwithstanding 
no  fruit.      Several  interpreters  have  been  of  opinion  that  2  in 
the  words  ipnva  and  iny"i3  is   the    causative  a,  and   that  the 
sense  consequently  is,  "througli  his  righteousness,  through  his 
wickedness."      In  support  of  their  view  they  appeal  to  ver.  1 6, 
where  righteousness  is  represented  as  the  cause  of  destruction 
— "Whj^  wilt  thou  destroy  thyself  ?"      The  word  iny"i3,  in  the 
sense — "  through  his  wickedness,"  finds  its  explanation  in  the 
fact,  that  the  Persian   secured  the  stability  of  his  rule  by  a 
wickedness,  which  esteemed  all  means  to  be  good  that  served 
his  ends.      But  that  we  must  rather  explain  "  in,  with,  along 
with  his  righteousness,  or  his  wickedness,"  2  being  often  used 
of  the  accompanying  circumstances   (Ewald,   |   217,  f  3),  is 
evident,  because  the  writer's  intention  is  to  advance  a  fact 
patent  to  the  world, — "  I  saw" : — Such  a  fact  was,  the  union 
of    righteousness    and    adversity,    of   wickedness    and    pros- 
perity ;  not  so,  however,  that  in  righteousness  lay  the  cause 
of  adversity,  and  in  wickedness,  the  cause  of  prosperity.    Tliis 
is  decided  further  by  paralled  passages  in  the  contemporaneous 
Malachi,   v.'hich   exhibit   a  remarkable    agTeement   with   this 
verse — passages  wherein  Israel  complains  that  he  is  unfortunate, 
notwithstanding  his  righteousness,  and  that  the  heathen  or 
the  heathenish  tyrants  are  prosperous  nottvithstanding  their 
wickedness.      Compare  chap.  ii.  1 7 — "  Ye  weary  the  Lord  with 
your  words,  and  ye  say,  wherein  do  we  weary  him  ?     When 
ye  say  :   Every  one  that  doeth  evil  is  good  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord,  and  he  delighteth  in  them  ;  or,  where  is  the   God  of 
judgment?"  'further,  also,  chap.  iii.  18-15,  "Ye  do  me  violence 
with  your  words  saith  the  Lord,  and  ye  say,  what  do  we 


174  CHAPTER  VII.  15-18. 

speak  then  against  thee  ?  Ye  say,  it  is  vain  to  serve  God, 
and  what  profit  is  it  that  we  keep  his  ordnance,  and  walk  in 
filth  before  the  Lord  of  Hosts."  (The  righteous  perisheth  in 
his  righteousness).  "And  now  we  count  the  proud  happy, 
built  up  are  the  workers  of  iniquity,  they  tempt  God,  and 
notwithstanding  escape:" — the  DHT,  "the  proud,"  that  is,  the 
heathen  tyrants,  corresponding  to  "  the  wicked,"  in  this  place. 
From  these  parallel  passages  we  deduce  the  conclusion  that 
under  "  the  righteous,"  Israel  is  tacitly  referred  to,  under  "  the 
wicked,"  the  heathen  ;  and  that  the  problem  here  discussed  is 
the  one  so  frequently  and  variously  discussed  and  illustrated 
by  Koheleth,  namely,  the  sufferings  of  the  people  of  God  at 
the  period  of  its  oppression  by  the  powers  of  the  world,  and 
specially  under  the  yoke  of  the  Persians,  "jnxn  signifies  in 
1  Kings  iii.  1 4,  "  to  lengthen ;"  elsewhere  it  is  undeniably 
employed  in  the  sense  of  "to  last  long,  or,  to  abide."  So  in 
Deuteronomy  v.  16,  "in  order  that  thy  days  may  last  loiig  ;" 
chap.  vi.  2;  xxv.  15.  Numbers  ix.  19,  22  ;  and  Koheleth  viii. 
1 2.  There  is  no  omission  of  D''D''  in  the  case,  for  even  where  it 
occurs,  it  is  nothing  more  than  the  so-called  accusal  relativ. : 
so  in  Deuteronomy  xxii.  7,  "And  that  thou  mayest  last  long 
in  respect  of  days."  Allusion  is  here  made  to  the  promise  of 
long  duration  for  the  people  of  God  given  in  the  Pentateuch. 
That  which  in  God's  word  is  spoken  to  His  people  by  way  of 
encouragement  becomes,  as  things  actually  are,  a  ground  of 
complaint  against  them  with  the  heathen. — If  the  righteous 
man  perisheth  notwithstanding  his  righteousness,  there  must 
be  a  fault  therein,  and  to  point  out  that  fault  is  the  aim  of 
the  present  section.  We  must  not  take  the  righteousness  as 
merely  imaginary ;  nor  is  the  righteous  man  here  spoken  of 
one  who  deems  himself  righteous  without  reason.  Even  in 
Luke  V.  32,  where  the  Lord  says  oh-/.  sXrjXvda  xaXleai  Bizalovg, 
aXka  ai/.apru'ko-og  dg  /xirdvoiav,  the  righteous  are  not  merely  such 
as  fancy  themselves  to  be  righteous.  But  in  the  righteousness 
of  the  Pharisees,  as  it  existed  in  the  time  of  the  author,  there 
was  a  double  fault.  I.  They  laid  a  one-sided  stress  on  the 
mere  external  accordance  of  their  actions  with  the  law  of  God, 
whereas  the  heart  also  was  claimed  and  in  the  original  record  of 
that  law,  the  evil  word  of  the  mouth,  and  the  evil  desire  of  the 
heart,  are  no  less  forbidden  than  the  evil  action.     They  failed  to 


CHAPTER  VII.  15-18.  175 

see  that  the  law  is  spiritual  (Romans  vii.  1 4),  that  a  man  may, 
for  example,  give  all  his  goods  to  the  poor,  and  yet  if  he  do 
it  not  from  the  impulse  of  love,  he  may  be  very  far  from  true 
righteousness  (]  Corinthians  xiii.  3).  Everything,  even  in  the 
law  itself,  is  repeatedly  and  expressly  reduced  back  to  love, 
(compare  Romans  xiii.  1 0).  II.  They  laid  a  one-sided  stress 
on  righteousness,  forgetting  that  aU  human  righteousness  is 
characterised  by  imperfection,  that  the  righteous  man  is  at  the 
best  but  a  poor  sinner.  The  first  fault  is  closely  connected 
with  the  second.  If  we  empty  righteousness  of  all  deeper 
significance,  it  is  easy  to  come  to  imagine  ourselves  to  be  abso- 
lutely righteous  :  such  a  fancy,  however,  disappears  as  soon  as 
we  consider  more  narrowly  ra  ^apvripa  roij  v6,u,ov  (Matthew  xxiii. 
23).  In  relation  to  publicans  and  whores  the  Pharisees  were 
reaUy  righteous  ;  so  also  the  Jews  in  relation  to  the  heathen  : 
but  in  many  respects  the  righteous,  o'/rmg  oO  %^£/ai'  i-;/ou<;i  /j,sra- 
vo!a,g  (Luke  xv.  7),  are  worse  than  open  sinners,  because  they 
do  not  see  the  need  of  repentance  and  regeneration,  because 
they  are  filled  with  pride  and  presumption  and  are  universally 
inclined  to  judge  others,  and  so  forth.  Those  who  in  one 
sense  are  actually  righteous,  in  another  sense  are  only 
fanciedly  righteous,  reputedly  righteous,  righteous  in  their 
own  eyes  (Job  xxxii.  1).  The  nature  of  such  a  false  righte- 
ousness shows  itself  in  a  peculiarly  mischievous  manner  in 
days  of  severe  suffering.  It  is  mainly  at  the  bottom  of  dis- 
content with  God's  leadings,  and  may  very  easily  end  in  fatal 
error  with  regard  to  God,  and  an  utter  loss  of  Him.*  The 
world  presents  a  very  perverted  appearance.  But  when  we 
examine  more  closely  into  righteousness,  and  into  the  end  of 
the  wicked,  astonishment  vanishes  and  we  see  that  all  is 
orderly.  Even  Isaiah  proves  (chap.  Iviii.)  that  a  pretended 
righteousness  cannot  lay  the  same  claims  as  the  true,  and 
teaches  that  the  latter  will  at  once  be  followed  by  deliverance. 
Ver.  1 6.  One  is  righteous  overmuch,  when  one  forgets  one's 
own  sinfulness,  which  calls  for  repentance,  and  when  the 
prayer,  iXded^Ti  fioi  rui  a/xapraXw,  (Luke  xviii.  1 3,)  which  ought 

*  Following  the  example  of  Seb.  Schmidt,  Eambach  observes:  "Prseceptnm 
de  fugienda  impatientia  adhuc  continuari,  ita  ut  occupetur  pernlciosissima  opinio 
de  propria  justitiiB  et  sanctitate,  qiioD  homnies  sub  difficultatibus  et  adversitati- 
bus  maxime  reddit  impatientes." 


176  CHAPTER  VII.  15-18. 

to  express  its  prevailing  feeling  during  this  earthly  life,  dies 
out  in  the  soul.  Behind  the  jjIus  of  such  a  pretended  right- 
eousness there  lies  concealed,  a  miserable  minus.  In  Mat- 
thew v.  20,  the  Lord  says — "unless  your  righteousness  be 
better  than  that  of  the  scribes  and  pharisees  ye  shall  in  no  wise 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  To  the  admonition,  "  be 
not  righteous  overmuch,"  Luke  xviii.  1 1  forms  the  commen- 
tary :  6  (papiffat'og  ffradslg  irpog  lavrh  raZra  Tp^erj-j^iro,  6  (r>sog 
iu^apiffTU  601,  on  ovx  sifLl  uS'-zsp  o/  XoiTol  Tuv  dvdpu'nruv,  apirayig,  ahiy.oi, 
Ijjoiy^oi,  r\  Tiai  ug  oZrog  6  rsXuivyjg :  Acts  xxvi.  5,  may  also  be  com- 
pared, where  Paul  describes  Pharisaism  as  the  aKpijSsardrTi 
a'ipiffig  TTJg  7j/xsrspag  QpriGxiiag.  That  the  righteousness  in  which 
as  to  substance  we  are  not  to  do  too  much,  is  one  characterised 
by  gTeat  defects,  that  further  the  author  has  not  the  least  in- 
tention of  recommending  moral  laxity,  is  clear  even  from  the 
parallel  admonition — "be  not  wise  overmuch" — that  is,  be- 
have not  as  such,  do  not  make  a  loud  profession  of  wisdom, 
do  not  employ  all  means  in  order  to  be  considered  a  wise  man, 
like  those  who  are  said  in  Matthew  xxiii.  7,  to  love  -/.aXue&ai 
brrh  tuv  dvdp'JJ'iruv,  'Pa.S/S/  'Pa(3[3i.  Except  here,  the  Hithpael  form 
of  n^n,  occurs  only  in  Exodus  i.  1 0,  where  it  denotes  "  sapien- 
tem  se  gessit."  Elsewhere  the  Hithp.  of  DDti'  means  always 
"to  be  alarmed,  frightened,  to  be  inwardly  troubled:"  here, 
on  the  contrary,  it  means  "  to  be  outwardly  disturbed,"  and 
"  to  destroy."  The  signification  of  the  mere  word  is  the  same. 
In  Kal  also  are  the  meanings  of  "  to  be  outwardly  disturbed," 
and  "  to  be  disturbed  in  spirit,"  of  "  vastatus,  desolatus  est," 
and  "  stupuit,"  connected  with  each  other.  But  in  what  sense 
does  a  one-sided  handling  of  righteousness  and  wisdom  produce 
disquiet  ?  Had  merely  the  words — "  be  not  righteous  over- 
much," preceded,  an  exaggerated  asceticism  might  be  supposed 
to  be  referred  to :  but  this  idea  is  prevented  by  the  other 
admonition,  "  be  not  overwise."  What  we  must  understand, 
therefore,  is  the  divine  curse  which  it  draws  down  on  itself  by 
such  perverted  courses.  Here  we  have  the  germ  of  the  woe 
denounced  by  the  Lord  in  Matthew  xxiii.  against  the  Phari- 
sees, and  pharisaically  disposed  people,  and  of  the  detailed 
threatenings  which  follow  the  often  repeated  woe  !  Ver.  38 
contains  words  corresponding   most  closely  to  the  question, 


CHAPTER  VII.   15-18.  17 

"  why  wilt   thou  destroy  thyself  ? " — namely,  Idov  d(p!i  rai  hixTi  o 

Ver.  17.  'Be  not  overmuch  ivicked:  a  little  follows,  alas! 
of  itself,  in  man,  who  is  born  and  conceived  in  sin,  and  whose 
thoughts  and  doings  are  evil  from  his  youth  upwards.  Accord- 
ing to  ver.  20,  there  is  not  on  earth  a  just  man  who  doetli 
good  and  sinneth  not.  So  much  the  more  earnestly,  therefore, 
should  we  be  on  our  guard  against  crossing  the  border-line 
which  separates  the  righteous  man  who  is  still  subject  to  weak- 
ness and  sin,  from  the  sinner;  so  much  the  more  carefully  should 
we  watch  lest  we  get  amongst  the  number  of  the  ap-raysg 
udixoi,  /J.OIXO/,  lest  we  fall  into  the  evil  company  described  in 
Psalm  i.  1  ;  so  much  the  more  earnestly  should  we  strive  to 
avoid  the  "  path  of  the  destroyer,"  (Psalm  xvii.  4,)  into  which 
we  may  be  so  easily  enticed  if  we  do  not  walk  with  fear  and 
trembling.  Why  rvilt  thou  die  before  thy  time  ?  The  wicked 
may  indeed  maJce  it  long,  when  it  is  God's  will  to  use  him  as 
an  insti-ument  for  the  accomplishment  of  wise  and  holy  pur- 
poses, (ver.  15,)  but  judgment  will  notwithstanding  come. 
"  The  fear  of  the  Lord  prolongeth  days,  and  the  years  of  the 
wicked  are  shortened,"  (Proverbs  x.  27  :)  "Men  of  blood  and 
of  deceit  shall  not  live  out  half  their  days,"  (Psalm  Iv.  24.) 
The  Egyptian,  the  Assyrian,  the  Chaldean,  the  Persian  were 
compelled  one  after  another  to  experience  this. 

Ver.  18.  It  is  good  that  thou  shouldst  take  hold  of  this,  and 
also  that  from  that  thou  shouldest  not  withdraw  thine  hand: 
"this,"  namely,  not  to  be  a  righteous  man  in  that  conderan- 
able  sense,  which  was  the  specifically  Jewish  disease  :  "  that," 
namely,  not  to  lead  a  life  of  sin,  which  was  specifically  the 
disease  of  heathens;  and  was  shared  by  all  those  who,  hav- 
ing wandered  into  error  concerning  the  God  of  Israel,  now 
gave  themselves  up  to  heathen  tendencies.  Both  alike  must  be 
carefully  avoided  :  both  alike  are  robberies  of  our  gracious  God, 
and  both  involve  us  in  the  judgments  of  the  Righteous  One. 
The  Lord  refers  to  these  words  in  M.atthew  xxiii.  23.  And  from 
the  words  employed  by  Him  in  His  rebuke  of  the  Pharisees,  viz., 
ravra  ds  'idn  ToiriSai  xaxs/Va  /mtj  dipi'svai,  we  may  judge  that  He  re- 
-  garded  this  passage  as  a  reproof  of  the  Pharisaic  tendency 
then  in  germ.  WJioso  feardlt  God  escapes  cdl  that,  that  is,  aL 
these  dano-erous  things,  the  destruction  which  threatens  on  all 

M 


178  CHAPTER  VII.  19,   20. 

hands,  x:?''  with  the  accusative  signifies  "  to  go  out  of,  or  from, 
anything  ;"  for  example,  T'J?n  HK  ^5V^  "  to  go  out  of  the  city," 
then  '•p^^y^  ''J2  "  my  children  leave  me,"  (Jeremiah  rs.  20  :)  here 
it  is  used  in  the  sense  of  "  escape."  By  the  fear  of  God  we 
escape  on  the  one  hand  the  danger  of  Pharisaism,  because 
firstly,  it  awakens  in  the  heart  a  dread  of  all  attempts  to  de- 
ceive God  by  the  trappings  of  a  heartless  show  of  piety;  and 
because  further,  an  energetic  knowledge  of  sin  is  inseparably 
bound  up  with  a  true  fear  of  God,  (Isaiah  vi.  5  :)  We  escape, 
also,  on  the  other  hand,  the  danger  of  a  life  of  sin,  because  we 
cannot  really  fear  God  without  having  also  a  keen  dread  of 
ofiending  Him  by  our  sins,  (Genesis  xxxix.  9,)  and  a  lively 
wish  to  walk  in  the  ways  of  His  commands. 


CHAPTER  YII.  19,  20. 

The  good  still  retained  by  Israel,  namely,  wisdom,  which, 
as  an  inalienable  possession,  accompanied  the  people  of  God 
even  into  the  depths  of  their  sufierings,  (ver.  11.)  is  of 
greater  value  than  the  power  which  is  on  the  side  of  the 
heathen  world.  For  human  sinfulness  inevitably  involves 
him  in  divine  judgments  who  lacks  wisdom.  Wisdom,  on 
the  contrary,  as  was  declared  in  ver.  1 3,  gives  life  to  him  that 
hath  it.  For  a  parallel  see,  besides  chap.  vii.  12,  13,  also 
chap.  X.  3  4-18. 

Ver.  1 9.  Wisdom  is  strong  for  the  tvise  more  than  ten 
mighty  men  who  are  in  the  city.  Ver.  20.  For  there  is  not 
a  just  man  upon  earth  that  did  good  and  sinned  not. 

Ver.  1 9.  JTj;  signifies  not  "  to  strengthen,"  but  "  to  be 
strong."  Wisdom  is  strong  for  the  wise,  proves  itself  strong 
for  his  best  interests.  We  must  think  of  the  mighty  men  as 
attended  by  their  hosts.  In  respect  of  mere  power  heathen- 
dom had  then  an  infinite  superiority. 

Ver.  20.  For  there  is — sinned  not :  hence  the  necessity 
for  wisdom  as  a  coiTCctive.  He  who  lacks  wisdom  will  inevi- 
tably be  guilty  of  that  which  will  involve  him  in  divine 
judgments.  But  only  in  the  midst  of  Israel  has  it  its  abode  : 
in  the  heathen  world  folly  has  pitched  its  tent,  (Deuteron. 


CHAPTER  VII.  21,  22.  179 

xxxii.  21.)     In  this  fact  is  the  pledge  that  Israel  will  finally 
be  exalted  to  universal  dominion. 


CHAPTER  VII.   21,  22. 

The  point  of  departure  here  also,  is  the  misery  of  the  people 
of  God.  In  times  of  severe  suffering  it  is  of  great  importance 
to  recognise  that  affliction  is  punishment  which  sin  has  merited. 
Light  is  then  thrown  on  the  otherwise  dark  providence  of  God : 
it  stills  also  the  tumults  of  the  soul  and  awakens  hope.  When 
we  see  the  footsteps  of  God  in  our  tribulations,  we  gain  a 
living  confidence  in  his  compassion. 

Ver.  21.  Also  take  not  to  heart  all  ivords  which  they  speak, 
so  that  thou  rnayst  not  hear  thy  servant  ivhen  he  curses  thee. 
Ver.  22.  For  oftentimes  also  thine  own  heart  knoweth  that 
thou  thyself  likewise  hast  cursed  others. 

Ver.  21.  That  this  saying  has  a  political  reference  is  indi- 
cated by  the  word  dj,  "  also."  It  shows  that  the  same  subject 
is  being  handled  as  before,  to  wit,  the  sufferings  of  the 
people  of  God,  only  from  a  new  point  of  view.  In  accordance 
with  this  D3  the  Septuagint  translation  runs — o'-ug  XaXriXovffiv 
dailSsig,  that  is,  "  the  godless,  the  heathen,"  (see  Isaiah  xxv.  2, 
5;  1  Maccabees  iii.  15;  ix.  73;  Suidas — aafSsig  o'l  'rroXuduav 
n  a6siav  6pr,a-Kivovrig^  The  heathen  tyrants  mocked  the  miserably 
reduced  Israelites  because  of  their  pretensions  to  be  the  people 
of  God  ;  they  said  to  them  constantly — "  where  is  now  thy 
God  ?"  Their  hatred,  moreover,  was  stirred  up  by  the  pre- 
sumption of  the  Jews,  seeming,  as  it  did,  to  judge  by  results, 
to  judge  by  their  actual  condition,  to  be  utterly  groundless 
and  sheer  impudence.  The  nature  of  their  speeches  we  may 
ascertain  more  closely  from  the  words,  "  thy  servant."  The 
children  of  Israel  let  the  heathen  see  that  they  looked  upon 
them  as,  according  to  God  and  right,  servants  ;  and  this  pro- 
voked them.  So  that  thou  mayst  not  hear,  as  thou  certainly 
wouldest,  if  thou  shouldest  give  thine  heart  to  it ;  which  is  as 
much  as  to  say,  "  and  avoid  hearing  therefore."  If  we  turn 
our  heart  away  from  that  which  we  perceive  with  the  outward 
car,  it  is  as  if  we  heard  and  yet  heard  not :  for  what  is  heard 
only  with  the  outward  ear  is  as  good  as  not  heard  at  all.      In 


180  CHAPTER  VII.   21,   21. 

Psalm  xxxviii.  14,  15,  David  says,  when  describing  Lis 
patience  under  the  assaults  of  his  foes, — "  and  I  as  a  deaf  man 
hear  not,  and  I  am  as  a  dumb  man  that  openeth  not  his 
mouth.  And  I  am  as  a  man  that  heareth  not,  and  in  whose 
mouth  is  no  reply."  Such  is  the  passionless  calm  to  which 
every  one  attains,  who  sees  in  everything  that  befals  him  an 
appointment  or  a  jiidgment  of  God.  Thy  servant  when  he 
curseth  thee.  The  sei'%^ant  of  Israel  is  the  heathen,  here  as  in 
chap.  X.  7, — "  I  saw  servants  upon  horses,  and  princes  walking 
as  servants  upon  the  earth."  It  is  implied  in  the  idea  of  the 
people  of  God  that  it  should  have  dominion  over  the  ♦world. 
To  give  up  this  claim,  is  to  give  up  itself  A  living  piety 
which  has  not  this  thought  is  an  impossibility.  If  the  people  of 
God  has  a  low  conception  of  itself,  it  has  at  the  same  time 
also  a  low  view  of  its  Lord.  According  to  Genesis  xlix.  1 0, 
"  the  obedience  of  the  nations  "  is  destined  to  the  Shiloh,  who 
should  go  forth  from  Israel.  In  Exodus  xix.  6,  Israel  is  de- 
nominated "a  kingdom  of  priests:"  and  because  priests  of 
God  who  made  .heaven  and  earth,  the}^  are  the  legitimate  lords 
of  the  world.  "  Thou  shalt  reign  over  many  nations,  but  they 
shall  not  reign  over  thee,"  it  is  said  in  Deuteronomy  xv.  6. 
According  to  Deuteronomy  xxxiii.  29,  Israel  is  a  people  "be- 
fore which  its  enemies  must  play  the  hypocrite,  and  which 
shall  tread  upon  their  high  places."  In  Deuteron.  xxviii.  1, 
we  read — "  and  it  shall  come  to  pass,  if  thou  shalt  hearken 
diligently  unto  the  voice  of  the  Lord  thy  God,  the  Lord  thy 
■  God  will  set  thee  on  high  above  all  the  nations  of  the  earth :" 
and  in  ver.  1 3,  "  and  the  Lord  shall  make  thee  the  head  and 
not  the  tail,  and  thou  shalt  be  above  and  thou  shalt  not  be 
beneath."  Isaiah  proclaims,  in  chap.  xlv.  1 4,  "  thus  saith  the 
Lord,  the  labour  of  Egypt,  and  the  merchandise  of  Cushsea 
and  the  Sabseans,  the  men  of  stature,  shall  come  over  unto 
thee,  and  they  shall  be  thine,  and  shall  walk  after  thee  ;  in 
chains  shall  they  walk  and  fall  down  before  thee,  and  make 
supplication  unto  thee — only  in  thee  is  God,  and  there  is  no 
God  besides."  At  the  commencement  of  his  Lamentations 
Jeremiah  complains — "  she  that  should  be  queen  amongst  the 
heathen  must  now  serve,"  and  in  chap.  v.  8, — "  Servants  rule 
over  them,  and  there  is  none  that  doth  deliver  out  of  their 
hand  :"    on  which  we  have  the  annotat.  uher.,  "  qui  nobis  po- 


CHAFfER  VII.  21,  22.  181 

tius  si  pii  fuissemus,  servire  debuissent."  Tlie  explanation — 
"  that  thou  mayest  not  be  compelled  to  hear  thy  servant  curse 
thee," — is  inadmissible  :  we  must  rather  render  the  Hebrew, 
"  that  thou  mayest  not  hear  thy  servant,  who  curseth  thee," 
No  longer  to  hear  that,  is  the  reward  of  turning  away  our 
heart  from  men,  and  returning  to  God.  He  who  is  without 
God  in  the  world  has  the  great  torture  of  being  compelled 
to  bear  the  "killing  in  his  bones"  (Psalm  xlii.  11).  We 
first  become  free  from  this  pain  when  we  have  learnt  livingly 
to  "wait  upon  God." 

Ver.  2  2.  If  such  is  the  voice  of  conscience  we  must  recog- 
nise God's  chastising  hand  in  that  which  our  enemies  inflict 
upon  us.  The  heart  then  becomes  tender  towards  those  who 
offend,  and  can  receive  their  injuries  with  indifference  :  this 
is  the  necessary  and  solid  foundation  of  the  love  of  enemies, 
and  of  prayer  for  those  who  despitefully  use  us  and  persecute 
us.  We  regard  them  as  instniments  of  God,  servants  at  once 
of  His  righteousness,  and  of  that  pitiful  love  which  chastises 
at  the  right  moment,  to  the  end  that  it  may  not  be  compelled 
to  give  us  up  to  death  :  we  say  also,  "  let  them  curse,  for  God 
has  commanded  it."  "iK'x  (where  it  happened)  that,  is  used 
here  in  the  sense  of  "where,  there  where,"  as  in  2  Samuel 
xix.  25,  and  Genesis  xxxv.  13,  15.  Others,  especially  the 
heathen,  whom  Israel  had  so  often  wounded  to  the  quick,  by 
his  haughty  presumption  and  contempt  of  their  prerogatives. 


CHAPTER  VII.  23-29. 

Reviewing  the  course  which  he  has  pursued,  Koheleth  finds 
that  although  in  his  struggle  for  wisdom  he  has  made  many 
a  gain,  he  still  despite  all  remains  far  from  his  goal  (ver.  23, 
24).  In  his  investigations  concerning  wisdom  and  folly  he 
arrives  at  the  result  that  the  most  dangerous  enemy  of  the 
human  race  is  false  luisdom  (ver.  25,  26).  The  difficulty  of 
attaining  true  wisdom  may  be  estimated  from  the  fact  that 
among  men  very  few  indeed  have  reached  it,  whilst  among 
women  not  a  single  instance  is  to  be  found  (ver.  27,  28). 
The  reason  whereof  is,  that  men  are  no  longer  in  their  origi- 


i82  CHAPTER  VII.  23-29. 

nal  normal  'condition,  but  have  fallen  under  the  dominion  of 
arbitrary  and  lawless  habits  of  thought  (ver.  2  9). 

Ver.  23.  All  this  I  proved  by  wisdom ;  I  said  I  will  be 
wise,  and  it  was  far  from  me.  Ver.  24.  Far  off  is  that 
which  became  (ward),  and  deep,  deep,  who  can  find  it  out  ? 
Ver.  25.  /  turned  myself  with  my  heart  to  know,  and  to  try, 
and  to  search  out  wisdom  and  thoughts,  and  to  know  wicked- 
ness as  folly,  and  foolishness  as  madness.  Ver.  26.  And  I 
find  something  which  is  more  bitter  than  death  ;  the  woman, 
which  is  nets  and  snares  as  to  her  heart,  chains  as  to  her 
hands  :  whoso  pleaseth  God  shcdl  escape  from  her,  and  the 
sinner  shall  be  taken  by  her.  Ver.  27.  Behold,  this  found  I, 
said  Koheleth,  one  after  the  other  finding  thoughts.  Ver.  28. 
After  that  my  soul  still  seeketh,  and  I  did  not  find  it  ;  one 
m,an  found  I  among  a  thousand,  but  a^mong  all  these,  a, 
woman  have  I  not  found.  Ver.  29.  And  behold,  this  have  I 
found,  that  God  hath  made  man  upright,  but  they  seek  out 
many  inventions. 

Ver.  23.  Koheleth  having  operated  a  considerable  time  with 
wisdom  begins  now  to  reflect  on  his  instrument.  All  this— 
that  is,  not  merely  what  has  immediately  preceded,  but  all 
that  has  gone  before  from  the  commencement  of  the  book — 
/  proved  by  wisdom.  The  attempt  is  to  be  regarded  as  a 
successful  one  in  relation  to  the  results  set  forth  :  as  an  un- 
successful one  in  relation  to  the  final  aim,  which  is,  absolute 
wisdom.  In  connection  with  all  that  he  accomplished,  there 
remained  in  the  writer's  mind  the  humiliating  consciousness 
that  he  was  still  far  distant  from  his  goal :  sk  fiipoug  yap  yivuxsxo- 
fuv  xal  ix  fjt,spoui  '7rpo^7}rsuo/j,sv  (1  Corinthians  xiii.  9.)  Of  all 
human  efforts,  however  successful  and  blessed  they  may  be, 
the  words  of  Phil.  iii.  1 2,  always  hold  good — ov^,  on  ridri  sXa/Soi/, 
ri  ribn  TiTi'Kiiuiiai. 

Ver.  24.  Far  off^  is  what  became,  or  "what  is."  Tlie 
preterite  rrri  designates,  a  past  stretching  forward  into  the 
present.  That  wisdom  cannot  reach  its  aim — see  the  words, 
"it  remained  far  from  me,"  of  the  preceding  verse — arises 
from  the  difficulty  of  approaching  its  object,  namely,  that 
which  is  (das  Seyende).  According  to  the  Book  of  Wisdom, 
chap.  vii.  17,  wisdom  is  ruv  ovtuv  yvuffig:  according  to  chap.  i. 
13  of  this  book,  wisdom  has  to  do  with  all   that   happens 


CHAPTER  VII.  23-29.  183 

beneath  tlie  sun.  If  absolute  being  (das  Seyende)  is  far  off, 
difficult  of  attainment,  unapproachable,  then  must  wisdom 
also  necessarily  be  far  off  Parallel  is  chap.  iii.  11:"  Man 
cannot  find  out  all  the  work  that  God  doeth,  neither  begin- 
ning nor  end  :" — to  the  words,  "  all  the  work,"  there,  corre- 
spond the  words,  "  what  is,"  here  :  compare  also  chap.  viii.  1 7, 
"  man  cannot  find  out  all  the  work  that  is  done  under  the 
sun  .  .  though  a  wise  man  should  think  to  know  it,  yet 
he  findeth  it  not."  Further  may  be  compared  Job  xi.  8,» 
where  concerning  the  object  of  wisdom,  namely,  the  nature 
and  work  of  God,  it  is  said — "  deeper  than  hell  what  canst 
thou  know?" — and  Romans  xi.  33,  where  we  read,  w; 
avs^spsvvrjra  rd  -/.pi/Mara  aurou  zai  avi^r/jiaoTOi  a'l  odoi  aurov.  riTlB' 
no  in  chap.  1.  9  signifies,  as  here,  "that  which  was;"  in  chap, 
vi.  1 0,  it  denotes,  "  that  which  is."  To  be  rejected  are  the 
divergent  explanations,  first,  of  Luther  and  Stier — "  it  is  far 
off",  what  will  it  be  ?"  then  of  Ewald — "  far  ofif  is,  what  it 
may  be,"  one  cannot  rightly  see,  what  — ;  and  lastly  of 
Hitzig,  "  what  is  far  off  and  deep,"  which  is  inconsistent  with 
tlie  position  of  the  words,  and  in  opposition  to  chap.  i.  9, 
where,  as  Hitzig  himself  is  compelled  to  admit,  "  n^i  is  itself 
predicate,"  whereas  here  he  would  make  it  out  to  be  only 
copula.  What  man  has  to  do,  and  what  the  Lord  his  God 
requires  of  him,  namely,  the  directly  practical,  is  "  no  longer 
far  off,"  since  the  light  of  divine  revelation  has  shined  into 
the  darkness  of  human  existence  (Deuteronomy  xxx.  11)  : 
rather  on  the  contrary,  as  Moses  says  to  Israel  in  ver.  1  -i  of 
the  same  chapter,  "  is  this  word  very  nigh  unto  thee,  in  thy 
mouth,  and  in  th}^  heart,  that  thou  mayest  do  it."  Of  this, 
however,  Koheleth  does  not  here  speak,  but  of  the  knowledge 
of  things,  and,  in  particular,  of  the  deeper  understanding  of 
divine  providence  and  God's  method  with  His  people  on 
earth.  That  which  in  itself  is  clear  seems  in  many  respects 
dark  to  man  because  of  his  indwelhng  sin,  so  that  he  is 
unable  fully  to  enjoy  the  gift  of  God. 

Ver.  25.  The  words,  /  turned  myself  and  my  heart,  are 
set  in  contrast  to  a  merely  suj^erjicial  doing.  No  result  is 
ever  amved  at  where  "^2^)  cannot  with  truth  be  added.  To 
seek  out  wisdom  and  thoughts  :  pacTi,  "  thought,  musing, 
meditation,"   (compare  chap.  ix.   1 0,   where   t/tought    is  con- 


]  84^  CHAPTER  VII.  23-29. 

nected  with  work,  the  former  being  the  spiritual  element 
from  which  the  latter  proceeds  forth)  is  put  in  opposition  to 
the  blind  impulses  and  passions  by  which  the  common  man 
allows  himself  to  be  led.  That  we  must  render  the  Hebrew 
— ivickedness  as  folly,  and  so  forth — is  clear  even  from  the 
article  in  ni^^DH.  To  judge  from  the  parallel  passages  (chap. 
i.  17;  ii.  12,  13;  X.  13)  ytj^n  might  stand  in  the  place  of 
PDD,  and  ni^3D  in  place  of  ni^^in.  ^D3  and  ni^DDH  too  might  be 
'  omitted  without  any  material  alteration  of  the  sense — and  to 
know  wisdom  and  folly — in  agreement  with  the  first  half  of 
the  verse,  where  the  writer  speaks  merely  of  the  knowledge 
of  wisdom  and  thoughts.  This  verse  forms  merely  the  intro- 
duction to  verse  26,  where  the  author  communicates  tlie  im- 
portant result  at  which  he  amved  in  the  course  of  his  studies 
on  wisdom  and  folly. 

Ver.  26.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  by  the  wor)ian  spoken 
of  here,  we  are  not  to  understand  a  common  prostitute,  but 
an  ideal  person,  to  wit,  false  wisdom,  which  kept  constantly 
undertaking  excursions  and  sallies  from  her  proper  home,  the 
heathen  world,  into  the  territory  of  the  Israelites.  It  does 
little  honour  to  the  exegesis  of  the  present  day  that  it  has  so 
frequently  mistaken  this  plain  and  evident  truth.  The  feel- 
ing for  the  allegorical  element  in  Scripture  is  still,  alas  !  very 
little  developed  ;  and  a  false  occidental  realism  largely  pre- 
vails no  less  amongst  certain  orthodox,  than  amongst  ration- 
alistic interpreters.  A  woman  in  the  common  sense  does  not 
suit  the  connection :  whereas  the  ideal  does.  Before  and 
afterwards  Koheleth  speaks  of  the  great  difficulty  of  attain- 
ing to  true  wisdom.  The  ground  whereof  is  specially  that 
alongside  of  the  wisdom  that  is  from  above,  the  eocpia  amkv 
xaTipyjD/jj'svn,  there  is  a  fleshy  wisdom,  the  I'Trlyuog,  -^v-x^i-Kri, 
dai/j,oviu)Byig  (James  iii.  15),  which  entangles  men  in  her  snares 
and  is  the  mother  of  the  "inventions"  alluded  to  in  ver.  29. 
Then  further,  it  must  be  remembered,  an  ideal  female  person, 
namely,  Koheleth  the  Assembling  One,  is  here  speaking :  and 
if  this  person  warns  us  against  another  fepaale,  as  the  most 
dangerous  enemy  of  the  human  race,  we  may  reasonably  pre- 
sume that  the  latter  is  also  ideal.  But  what  is  quite  decisive 
in  favour  of  the  view  now  advocated  is,  that  it  alone  enables 
us  to  account  for  the  feminine  connection  of  the  word  Kohe- 


CHAPTER  VII.  23-29.  185 

leth,  wliicli  occurs  nowhere  else  in  the  whole  book.  Every- 
where else,  the  reference  to  the  incarnation  of  the  wisdom 
which  is  from  above  in  the  person  of  Solomon  gave  rise  to 
the  masculine  connection  ;  here,  however,  a  change  is  made 
on  account  of  the  opposition  in  which  wisdom  is  set  to  philo- 
sophy and  wanton  seduction.  And  finally  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  woman  here  is  identical  with  the  (female) 
"  stranger,"  the  "  foreigner,"  Avho  is  introduced  in  Proverbs  as 
the  dangerous  foe  of  true  wisdom  :  this  can  be  the  less  ques- 
tioned, since,  as  has  been  already  shown,  Koheletli  refers 
back  to  Proverbs.  But  now  there  are  strong  grounds  for 
thinking  that  the  woman  of  the  Proverbs  is  the  personifica^ 
tion  of  heathenish  folly,  putting  on  the  airs  of  wisdom  and 
penetrating  into  the  territory  of  the  Israelites  :  she  is  no 
other  than  the  (pi\o(So<pia  and  xsi/jj  dcrarjj  of  Colossians  ii.  8,  and 
the  ■^subuiw/i.og  yvuaig  of  1  Timothy  vi.  20,  which  renewed  its 
old  attempts  at  invasion  in  the  very  first  beginnings  of  the 
Christian  Church.  The  key  to  Proverbs  ii.  16,  17:  "  to  de- 
liver thee  from  the  strange  woman,  the  foreigner  which 
maketh  smooth  her  words  ;  which  forsaketh  the  friend  of  her 
youth,  and  forgetteth  the  covenant  of  her  God," — is  Jeremiah 
iii.  4,  20,  according  to  which  the  friend  of  youth  is  no  other 
than  the  Lord.  This  Gentile  wisdom,  so  far  as  it  found  dis- 
ciples amongst  the  people  of  God,  was  chargeable  with  forget- 
ting the  Lord.  In  Proverbs  v.,  the  evil  woman  must  needs 
be  regarded  as  an  ideal  person  becarise  of  the  opposition  in 
which  she  is  set  to  the  good  woman,  Wisdom.  Chr.  B. 
Michselis  remarks  :  I.  dehortatur  a  falsi  nominis  sapientia 
s.  potius  /iw^/a  sub  schemate  mulieris  adulterae,  ver.  1-14  ; 
II.  Commendat  veram  sapientiam  sub  schemate  castse  dulcis- 
simseque  conjugis,  ver.  15-23.  In  fact,  verses  15  and  16 
there — "  drink  waters  out  of  thine  own  cistern,  and  running 
waters  out  of  thine  own  well.  Let  thy  fountains  be  dispersed 
abroad,  and  rivers  of  waters  in  the  streets," — are  without 
meaning  on  the  literal  view  of  them.  Bertheau,  who  adopts 
the  literal  view,  finds  himself  in  such  perplexity  that  he 
wishes  to  alter  the  text  and  interpolate  a  negation — "let 
them  not  flow  abroad."  The  cistern,  the  fountain,  is  the 
native  Israelitish  wisdom.  Out  of  that  one  ought  to  draw 
living  waters  and  communicate  thereof  to  the  heathen  world, 


186  CHAPTER  VII.  23-29. 

but  not  busy  oneself  with  their  wisdom  whicb,  more  closely- 
inquired  into,  is  folly.  Further,  if  wisdom  in  chap.  vii.  4,  5, 
— "  say  unto  wisdom,  thou  art  my  sister,  and  call  understand- 
ing thine  acquaintance.  That  she  may  protect  thee  from  the 
strange  woman,  the  foreigner,  who  useth  flattering  words," — - 
is  an  ideal  person,  her  opponent  must  be  so  also.  In  the  9th 
chapter  again  the  evil  woman  is  put  in  contrast  with  wisdom. 
See  Ch.  B.  Michaelis,  who  says,  "  Partes  cap.  duse  sunt.  Describi- 
tur  enim  I.  sapientia,  missis  circumquaque  famuhs  ad  epulas 
a  se  paratas  invitans,  ver.  1-12.  II.  Opposita  mulier  stultitige 
suas  e  contrario  delicias  commendans  et  offerens,  ver.  13-18." 
The  explanation  is  in  fact  plainly  given  in  the  words  of  ver. 
13 — "there  is  a  woman  of  folly,  clamorous,  who  is  simple 
and  knows  nothing."  The  woman  is  personified  wisdom. 
Last  of  all,  in  Proverbs  xxii.  14,  we  read — "the  mouth  of  the 
foreigner  is  a  deep  pit :  he  that  is  abhorred  of  the  Lord 
falleth  therein."  That  the  writer  treats  here  of  doctrines, 
teachings,  and  that  foreign  doctrines,  (seductions  always  came 
from  foreign  countries,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  example  of 
Israel  in  the  desert,  and  then  also  in  that  of  Solomon  him- 
self) are  personified  as  foreigners  (female)  is  clear  from  the 
mention  of  the  mouth.  Nahum  iii.  4,  presents  an  analogous 
instance  of  such  personification.  There,  Nineveh,  the  wielder 
of  the  world's  sceptre,  is  represented,  on  account  of  her  arts 
of  deception,  as  a  whore,  who  plunges  the  nations  into  ruin 
by  her  seductions.  That  which  is  true  of  heathen  j^olitics,  is 
true  also  of  heathen  wisdom^  of  the  philosophy  and  hollow 
deceits  of  the  world.  To  the  woman  here,  corresponds  in 
Eevelations  ii.  20,  "the  woman  Jesebel,  which  called  herself 
a  prophetess  to  teach  and  seduce  my  servants  to  commit  for- 
nication, and  to  eat  things  sacrificed  to  idols."  Jesebel  there, 
is  a  symbolical  person,  a  personification  of  the  erroneous  doc- 
trines of  the  heathen.  Against  strange  teachings  and 
heathenish  wisdom,  Koheleth  warns  his  fellow-countrymen 
also  in  chap.  xii.  12.  Numerous  parallels  to  the  words, 
"  more  bitter  than  death,"  (Cartwright — "  cujus  nefariam  con- 
suetudinem  vel  morte  redimere  utile  fuerit,")  may  be  found 
in  Proverbs.  See,  for  example,  chap.  vii.  26,  27,  where  it  is 
said  of  "  the  stranger,"  "  she  hath  cast  down  many  wounded, 
and  numerous  are  her  slain.      Her  house  are  ways  to  hell^ 


CHAPTER  VII.  23-29.  187 

going  down  to  the  chambers  of  death  :"  and  chap.  ix.  18,  "  he 
knoweth  not  that  the  dead  are  there,  and  that  her  guests  are 
in  the  depths  of  hell."  It  is  simplest  to  take  nih  as  an  accu- 
sative— "  which  is  nets  and  snares  as  to  her  heart  (according  to 
her  heart)."  The  rvisdom  of  the  world  offers  -peculiarly  strong 
temptcdions  in  times  ivhen  the  ivorld  has  the  dominion  ;  as 
may  be  seen  in  the  example  of  the  Maccabsean  period. 

Ver.  27.  This  found  I,  namely,  that  which  has  been  set 
forth  in  the  previous  part  of  the  book  (ver.  23).  One  for 
one,  which  is  as  much  as,  "  one  by  one,  one  after  the 
other,"  so  that  on  each  occasion  he  only  undertook  one 
subject,  and  thoroughly  investigated  that.  Compare  nns^ 
nns,  "  one  after  the  other  " '  (Isaiah  xxvii.  1 2)  and,  s7i  xadsig 
(John  viii.  9).  In  this  way  alone  can  anything  be  effected 
in  the  struggle  for  knowledge.  As  the  Berleburger  Bible  re- 
marks —  "  knowledge  grows  by  slow  degrees."  Finding 
thoughts  : — in  the  later  usage  the  infinitive  with  ^  is  fre- 
quently employed  to  describe  a  condition,  a  state,  in  this 
respect  resembling  the  participle,  (see  Ewald,  §  237  c.  280  d). 

Ver.  28.  The  word  itrx  standing  at  the  commencement 
indicates  that  the  searching  and  not  finding  refer  to  the 
matter  mentioned  in  the  previous  verse,  namely,  wisdom, 
specTilation.  In  regard  to  the  word,  see  Ewald,  §  3  8 1  b. 
There  is  the  same  correspondence  between  the  words,  "  my 
soul  still  seeketh  and  I  have  not  found  it,"  and  the  words  in 
ver.  23, — "I  said  I  will  be  wise  and  it  was  far  from  me  :" 
as  between  ver.  27  and  the  first  part  of  ver.  23.  Compare 
further  chap.  viii.  1 7.  Many  a  result  has  been  arrived  at,  but 
the  full  possession  of  wisdom  has  not  been  gained.  How  dif- 
ficult that  is  of  attainment  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  amongst 
men  only  an  extremely  small  number  has  succeeded,  and 
among  women  not  a  single  one.  The  phrase,  "  one  of  a  thou- 
sand," is  borrowed  from  Job  xxxiii.  23.  Elihu  says  there 
that  a  man  who  can  enhghten  his  brother  on  God's  ways,  one 
therefore  who  is  in  full  possession  of  divine  wisdom,  is  very 
seldom  to  be  found,  is  "  one  among  a  thousand."  The  select 
few  of  this  class  consist  of  such  men  as  Moses,  David,  Isaiah, 
the  same  that  the  author  of  the  Greek  "  Wisdom  of  Solomon," 
had  in  view,  when  in  chap.  ii.  27,  he  says  of  wisdom,  xara, 
yBVBas  i'lg  -^v/ag   offiag  fMSTa[3aivousa    <plXoug  Qio\J  xai  rrpo^piirag    Kara.- 


188  CHAPTER  yii.  23-29. 

ffxsua^E/.  Himself  the  author  does  not  reckon  amongst  these 
chosen  few,  without  thereby  giving  up  the  claim  to  canonical 
authority  which  he  expressly  makes  at  the  close  of  the  book. 
In  connection  with  the  declaration — "  one  woman  have  1  not 
found  under  all  these,"  that  is,  amongst  the  possessors  of 
wisdom,  the  fact  must  be  taken  into  consideration,  tliat  no 
writing  hy  a  luoman  is  to  he  found  in  the  entire  Old  and  Feiv 
Testaments.  That  which  was  vouchsafed  only  to  the  chosen 
few  amongst  men, — and  be  it  remarked  that  we  do  not  here 
speak  of  that  general  participation  in  wisdom  to  which  the 
entire  people  of  God,  as  "  the  wise  nation,"  (Deuteronomy  iv. 
6,)  was  called,  but  of  an  independent,  pioneering,  and  pro- 
ductive possession  thereof, — we  should  not  at  all  expect  to  be 
conferred  on  woman,  who  is  the  "  weaker  vessel,"  (1  Peter  iii. 
7.)  It  lies  beyond  the  degree  of  woman,  whose  characteristic 
is  in  these  respects  predominantly  receptive,  not  productive, 
and  whose  real  sphere  of  independent  action  is  quite  another. 
Luther  says — "  Women  are  created  by  God  for  their  ov/n  kind 
of  work,  namely,  for  the  management  of  the  house,  and  the 
bringing  up  of  children  ;  and  each  one  of  us  accomplishes 
that  best  to  which  God  has  created  and  called  him.  A 
woman  lays  hold  of  a  child  better  with  her  little  finger  than 
a  man  with  his  two  fists.  Therefore  let  each  one  stick  to  the 
work  to  which  he  has  been  called  and  appointed  by  God." 
Nothing  but  a  complete  misapprehension,  confounding  the 
woman  here  with  the  one  in  ver.  26,  when  they  have  nothing 
whatever  to  do  with  each  other,  could  have  given  rise  to  such 
explanations  as  that  of  Hitzig — "  among  a  thousand  men  I 
found  an  upright  man,  but  not  one  good  woman."  "Upright- 
ness," in  Hitzig's  sense,  is  not  once  treated  of  in  this  entire 
connection.  What  is  discussed  is  wisdom,  the  fathoming  of 
the  nature  of  things,  of  the  depths  of  the  Godhead.  The 
author  only  denies  to  women,  what  he  does  not  attribute  to 
himself  But  undoubtedly  it  is  not  his  intention  to  renounce 
all  claim  to  the  honour  of  being  an  "upright,"  "good"  man. 
Whoever  has  made  himself  acquainted  with  the  general  features 
of  the  Scripture  mode  of  viewing  things  will  at  once  acknow- 
ledge that  Hitzig's  view  is  an  impossible  one.  Luther  observes, 
"amongst  the  heathen  there  was  a  saying — tria  mala,  mala 
pessima,  ignis,  aqua,  femina,   that  is,  there  can  be   nothing 


CHAPTER  VII.  23-29.  189 

worse  than  what  these  three  can  do,  to  wit,  fire,  water,  M^oman, 
But  these  and  many  of  the  like  sayings  against  the  female 
sex  have  been  vomited  forth  by  the  devil  out  of  pure  hatred 
and  venom  towards  God  and  His  work,  meaning  in  this  way 
to  disgust  every  man  with  the  married  state,  and  with  God's 
word."  The  practical  point  of  view  has  been  well  hit  upon 
and  described  by  Cartwright, — "  Quod  foeminas  admoneat,  ut 
modeste  se  gerant,  et  conscise  imbecillitatis  suse  caveant,  ne 
sibi  et  suo  ingenio  confidant,  sed  se  suis  quibus  subsunt  gu- 
bernatoribus  regendas  et  moderandas  tradant,  et  ante  omnia 
Deum  sollicite  precentur,  ut  suse  imbecillitatis  misertus  viri- 
bus  illos  accingat,  quibus  in  officio  contineantur." 

Ver.  29.  But  whence  does  it  arise  that  wisdom  is  so  diffi- 
cult for  man  to  reach  ?  The  fault  lies  not  in  God,  but  in  man, 
whose  original  nature  has  degenerated.  God  made  man  up- 
right :  -ityi  means  "  upright,"  (not  "  sincere,"  as  Luther  trans- 
lates,) and  designates  the  normal  state,  the  state  which  is  in  ade- 
quate correspondence  with  the  divine  standard.  Were  man  still 
in  the  condition  in  which  he  was  created,  wisdom  would  be  easy 
of  approach  to  him,  for  the  possession  of  wisdom  is  part  of 
the  normal  condition  and  character  of  man,  But  they  sought 
out  many  inventions,  (arts.)  P^'^'H  occurs  only  here  and  in  2 
Chronicles  xxvi.  15.  There  it  is  used  of  artfully  devised  war 
machines  :*  and  by  way  of  explanation  there  is  added  aj»>n 
nn^iTlD  that  is  "  devised  by  the  meditative."  The  word  desig- 
nates here,  properly,  that  which  is  "  thought  out,"  "  excogi- 
tated," "  subtilty,"  not  malas  artes,  such  as,  "  intrigues," 
"  machinations,"  as  Hitzig  would  explain  it.  The  question  in 
hand  relates  not  to  'practice  but  theory,  not  to  evil  doing  but 
to  perverse  thinking.  The  word  describes  rather  those  so 
often  plausible  and  brilliant  reasonings  of  the  natural  under- 
standing, which  perplex  the  heart  and  lead  away  from  the 
wisdom  that  is  from  above,  those  speculations  of  a  heart  turned 
away  from  God,  which  are  perpetually  penetrating  into  the 
Church  fnmi  the  world,  those  jSiiS/jXovg  -/.svoi^uviag  xal  avrid'esng 
rrig  -vpsuSwi/j/^oy  yvu)Gsug,  against  which  the  Apostle  utters  his 
warning  in  1  Timothy  vi.  20.     Since  the  fall  man  has  forgotten 

*  Gesenius, — "  cf.  iiigenium,  quod  media  latinitate  ballistam  pr.  machinain 
ingeniose fabrefactam  notat,  unde  dicebant  ingeniareurbem,  i.e.,  machinisoppug- 
nare,  ingeniosus,  ingeniator,  gall,  ingenleur," 


190  CHAPTER  VIII.   1-8. 

that  lie  shoilld  in  the  first  instance  take  up  a  receptive  position, 
in  relation  to  the  hukv  ffop/a,  and  that  such  a  position  is  the  only- 
right  one  ;  but  instead  of  that,  he  goes  hunting  after  his  own 
phantastic  and  high-flown  thoughts.  The  only  way  of  throwing 
off  this  severe  disease,  and  of  escaping  from  the  bonds  of  one's 
own  thoughts  and  imaginations,  is  to  unlearn  the  serpent's 
lesson — "ye  shall  be  as  God,  knowing  good  and  evil," — to 
return  to  our  dependence  on  God,  to  renounce  all  self-acquired 
knowledge,  and,  "  leaving  all  our  own  fancies  and  conclusions 
to  sink  in  Lethe's  stream,"  to  accept  the  divine  teachings 
alone,  according  to  our  Lord's  saying  in  Matthew  xi.  25, — 
"  I  thank  thee,  0  Father,  that  thou  hast  hid  these  things  from 
the  wise  and  prudent,  and  hast  revealed  them  unto  babes." 


CHAPTER  VIII.  1-8. 

Here  too  again  the  point  of  departure  is  the  mournful  con- 
dition of  the  people  of  God.  After  an  introductory  eulogy 
of  wisdom,  (ver.  1,)  the  author  admonishes  his  fellow-country- 
men not  to  allow  themselves  by  any  means  to  be  diverted 
from  obeying  their  heavenly  King,  or  to  be  seduced  to  evil 
courses,  seeing  that  their  Lord  is  almigJity  both  in  action  and 
in  punishment,  (ver.  2-4.)  If  the  people  of  God  only  continue 
steadfast  in  obedience  their  sufferings  will  one  day  be  removed 
from  them  :  men,  however  mighty  they  may  seem,  are  far  too 
impotent  to  be  able  to  hinder  the  course  of  the  judgments 
which  God  at  His  own  appointed  time  decrees  for  the  good 
of  His  children,  (ver.  5-8.) 

Ver.  1.  Who  is  as  the  wise  raan  ?  and  who  hiotveth  the 
interpretation  of  things  ?  A  man's  wisdom  maJceth  his  face 
to  shine,  and  the  harshness  of  his  face  is  changed.  Ver.  2. 
I ;  observe  the  m,outh  of  the  king,  and  that  because  of  the  oath 
of  God.  Ver.  3.  Be  not  hasty  to  go  out  of  his  sight,  stand 
not  in  an  evil  thing,  for  he  doeth  ^vhatsoever  pleaseth  him. 
Ver.  4.  Because  the  word  of  the  king  is  ruler,  and  who  can 
say  to  him.,  ivhat  doest  thou  ?  Ver.  5.  Whoso  keejjeth  the 
command  shall  experience  no  evil  thing,  and  a  ivise  heart 
discerneth  both  time  and  judgment.  Ver.  6.  For  every  desire 
of  man  has  a  time  and  right ;  for  the  adversity  of  man  is 


CHAPTER  VIII.  1-8.  191 

heavy  upon  him.  Ver.  7.  For  he  hnoweth  not  that  which 
shall  be,  for  who  can  shoiv  to  him  hovj  it  will  be  ?  Ver,  8. 
There  is  no  man  that  hath  poiver  over  the  spirit,  to  retain  the 
spirit :  neither  hath  he  power  over  the  day  of  death,  and  there 
is  no  discharge  from  that  conflict,  nor  does  wickedness  deliver 
him  that  hath  it. 

Ver.  1.  As  in  chap.  vii.  23-28,  at  the  close  of  a  series  of 
wise  sayings,  the  author  institutes  a  consideration  of  wisdom 
itself,  so  also  here,  at  the  beginning  of  a  new  series  of  such 
sajdngs,  he  extols  the  high  importance  of  wisdom,  in  order  to 
prepare  the  spiritual  ear  for  the  reception  of  his  utterances. 
Who  is  as  the  wise  man  ?  No  one  is  equal  to  the  wise  man  : 
wisdom  is  the  one  precious  pearl  with  which  no  possession  on 
earth  can  be  compared  (Job  xxviii.  18  ;  Matthew  xiii.  45,  46.) 
The  ground  of  the  importance  of  wisdom  is  assigned  in  the 
words — and  who  hnoweth  the  interpretation  (I5fs  the  Hebrew 
word,  occurs  only  here ;  elsewhere  the  Chaldee  form  "IK'S  is 
used,  and  that  only  in  Daniel)  of  things  ?  inn,  corresponds 
to  the  expression,  "that  which  is,"  employed  in  chap.  vii.  24 
to  designate  the  object  of  wisdom.  Wisdom  leads  us  into  the 
nature,  the  essence  of  things,  and  thus  furnishes  a  basis  for 
right  practical  conduct.  J.  D.  MichaeHs  says — "By  the 
solution  of  things,  we  are  to  understand  nothing  but  the 
explanation  of  all  that  which  is  done  in  the  world  and  of 
the  design  thereof:  the  evils  of  the  world  appear  to  us 
like  letters  without  meaning,  unintelligible ;  but  as  soon 
as  we  consider  their  good  results,  their  interpretation  will 
be  plain,  we  shall  see  why  God  permits  them."  The  cross, 
whose  dark  depths  are  illuminated  by  wisdom,  is  no  doubt, 
according  to  what  follows,  a  special  aspect  of  the  gene- 
ral question  which  is  here  principally  brought  under  con- 
sideration ;  but  J.  D.  Michaelis  has  had  it  too  directly  and 
exclusively  in  view.  The  statement  of  the  high  advantages 
of  -svisdom  is  continued  in  the  words — a  mans  tuisdom  maketh 
his  face  to  shine.  By  the  illwniination  of  the  face  several 
commentators  understand  "  the  instruction  and  good  guidance 
which  wisdom  confers  on  its  possessor."  That,  however,  is 
against  usage,  according  to  which  the  illumination  of  the 
countenance  can  only  signify  "to  cheer,  to  enliven."  The 
cognate  phrase,  "  enlighten  the  eyes,"  means  usually  "  to  make 


192  CHAPTER  VIII.    1-8. 

brisk  and  cheerful :"  misery  and  pain  cause  tbe  eyes  to  be 
dull,  gloomy,  languid.  Compare  Psalm  xix.  9,  where  "  en- 
lightening the  eyes"  is  set  in  parallelism  with  "  rejoicing  the 
heart."  To  the  cheering  of  the  countenance  has  reference  the 
phrase  v:3  T'sn,  used  of  God  :  God's  face  beams,  is  radiant,  in 
relation  to  those  towards  whom  he  is  gracious.  This  expres- 
sion is  not  elsewhere  employed  of  men  ;  yet  in  Proverbs  xvi. 
1 5,  it  is  said,  "  in  the  light  of  the  king's  countenance  is  life." 
The  reason  of  the  joy  afforded  by  wisdom  may  be  found  in 
the  insight  it  gives  into  the  nature  of  things,  specially,  into 
the  providence  of  God  ;  and  in  the  assurance  and  decision 
with  which,  as  a  consequence,  we  can  regard  the  practical 
questions  of  life.  And  the  strength  of  his  countenance  is 
changed.  According  to  usage,  "  the  strength  of  the  counte- 
nance," can  only  mean,  "  hard  and  rigid  features,"  as  the  expres- 
sion of  boldness  and  impudence.  In  Deuteronomy  xxviii.  50, 
D^JB  TJ?  ''13  is  "a  bold  and  impudent  people."  In  Daniel  viii, 
23,  a  king  cja  rj;  is  a  bold,  impudent  king.  D'-JS  Tj;n  or  n''3S3, 
"to  make  the  face  strong,"  is  used  of  "boldness,  impudence," 
in  Proverbs  vii.  13;  xxi.  29.  Consequently,  the  rendering, 
"rage,  chagrin  at  the  repugnant  circumstances  of  life,"  must 
be  rejected  as  erroneous.  Jerome  has  given  substantially  the 
correct  view — "  Omnis  hsereticus  et  falsum  dogma  defendens 
impudenti  vultu  est."  So  also  the  Berleburger  Bible  which 
says — "  In  order  that  the  rigidness  of  his  countenance,  that  is, 
his  savage  unfriendly  crabbed  stubborn  nature,  his  wrinkled 
forehead  and  impudent  face,  may  be  changed ;  that  man  may 
be  no  longer  so  harsh,  so  difficult  of  approach,  nor  be,  as 
hitherto,  refractory  to  human  and  divine  commands.  When, 
through  the  transforming  power  of  wisdom,  a  heart  of  flesh 
has  taken  the  place  of  the  heart  of  stone,  the  inward  pliancy 
and  docility,  the  soul's  fear  of  God  and  his  commands,  which 
then  follow,  become  discernible  in  the  countenance" 

Ver.  2.  The  simple  "  I"  standing  alone,  is  as  much  as,  "  I 
counsel  thee,"  or,  "  wilt  thou  listen  to  my  advice,  then."  At 
first  sight  the  author  seems  here  to  be  admonishing  his  fellow- 
countrymen  to  obey  the  secidar  authorities,  that  is  the  heathen. 
Even  Jerome  remarks,  "  videtur  prsecipere  juxta  apostolum 
regibus  et  potestatibus  obsequium  ;"  but  rightly  adds,  "  this 
explanation  is  however  to  be  rejected."     Against  this  explana- 


CHAPTER  VIII.   1-8.  193 

tion  there  is  at  the  very  outset  one  objection,  namely,  that 
scarcely  a  passage  is  to  be  found  in  the  Old  Testament  where 
obedience  to  the  heathen  tyrants  is  represented  as  a  religious 
duty.  Jeremiah  xxix.  7,  is  not  to  be  reckoned  amongst  them. 
Romans  xiii.  was  written  at  the  time  of  the  dominion  of  the 
Romans,  and  therefore  in  essentially  different  circumstances. 
Wliat  the  Apostle  says  there  of  the  authorities,  as  the  guardians 
of  law  and  right,  is  inapplicable  to  oriental  monarchies,  as  is 
satisfactorily  enough  proved  by  this  very  book.  The  char- 
acteristic which  distinguished  the  Romans  from  other  heathen 
nations,  namelj'',  their  sense  of  justice,  is  prominently  referred 
to  in  1  Maccabees  viii.  The  king  here,  for  whom  obedience 
is  claimed  is  rather  the  Heavenly  one,  as  in  chap.  v.  8  :  com- 
pare also  Psalm  xx.  10  ;  v.  8  ;  x.  I  6.  The  author  intention- 
ally abstains  from  saying  expressly  that  he  means  the  heavenly 
king.  Wisdom  loves  to  speak  in  "  dark  sayings,"  (Proverbs  i. 
6).  It  pursues  its  aim  of  sharpening  the  intellect  even  at  the 
risk  of  misunderstanding.  But  prudence  also  rendered  it 
advisable  not  to  express  himself  here  more  clearly.  The 
mouth  being  the  organ  of  speech,  it  stands  here  for  the  words 
which  proceed  from  it  (compare  chap.  x.  13).  lO'j'  is  the 
standing  term  employed  to  denote  the  observance  of  the  com- 
mands of  God  :  compare  ni^'D  "i»*^  in  ver.  5.  There  is  a  dif- 
ference between  the  words  here  and  the  phrases  usually  em- 
ployed in  relation  to  the  heavenly  king,  e.  g.,  nin''  ''3  "I3y  (IN  um. 
xiv.  41,  and  elsewhere),  and  mn'* ''2  nx  HID  (Numbers  xx.  24, 
and  frequently  besides).  And  (indeed)  because  of  the  oath  to 
God.  A  person's  oath  is,  in  all  cases,  either  that  which  he 
makes  (Psalm  cv.  9  ;  1  Chronicles  xvi.  16),  or  which  is  made 
to  him  (Habakkiik  iii.  9,  where  "  oaths  of  the  tribes,"  are  oaths 
which  were  made  to  the  tribes,  promises  of  God  to  Israel  con- 
firmed by  oath.  Genesis  xxiv.  8  ;  Joshua  ii.  17,  20  ;  1  Kings 
ii.  43),  which  therefore  belongs  to  him,  either  as  giver  or  re- 
ceiver. Accordingly,  in  this  place,  "  the  oath  of  God"  can  only 
be  the  oath  which  is  made  to  God,  and  the  explanation,  "  the 
oath  by  God,"  must  therefore  be  rejected.  But  this  does  not 
prevent  the  words  being  referred  also  to  earthly  authorities. 
For  in  fact  every  oath  by  God  must  be  looked  upon  as  an 
oath  made  to  God : — one  swears  to  God,  to  perform  this  or 
that  thing  to  this  or  that  man.  Compare  Exodus  xxii.  1 0 — 
N 


194  CHAPTER  VIII.  1-8. 

"  the  oath  of  the  Lord  shall  be  between  them  both  :" — and  2 
Samuel  xxi.  7  ;  1  Kings  ii.  43.  The  subject-matter  in  hand, 
however,  forbids  us  referring  the  words  to  such  an  oath  of 
allegiance  :  we  can  only  think  of  the  oath  which  bound  the 
people  of  God  to  obedience  to  their  heavenly  King.  Nebii- 
chadnezzar,  it  is  true,  made  Zedekiah  take  an  oath  of  faithful- 
ness to  himself  (2  Chronicles  xxxvi.  1 3)  :  but  there  is  nowhere 
to  be  found  the  slightest  trace  of  an  oath  taken  by  the  nation 
to  its  heathen  tyrants.  To  their  heavenly  King,  on  the  con- 
trary, the  Israelites  stood  notoriously  pledged  by  sacred  cove- 
nant and  oath  to  obey  His  laws  and  commands.  In  Deuter- 
onomy xxix.  12-1 5,  it  is  said,  "thou  shalt  enter  into  the  cove- 
nant of  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  into  his  oath,  which  the  Lord 
thy  God  maketh  with  thee  this  day. — Neither  with  you  only 
do  I  make  this  covenant  and  this  oath  :  but  both  with  those 
who  are  here  this  day,  and  also  with  those  who  are  not  here." 
Ezekiel  says,  in  chap.  xvi.  5  0,  to  Judah — "  I  will  deal  with 
thee  even  as  thou  hast  done,  which  despiseth  the  oath  and 
breakest  the  covenant,"  on  which  Michaelis  remarks,  "  quo  te 
devovisti  paciscens  cum  deo."  It  is  of  special  importance,  how- 
ever, to  compare  a  passage  which  refers  to  the  same  period  as 
the  one  now  under  notice,  and  is  remarkably  allied  therewith, 
namely  Nehemiah  x.  30,  where  it  is  said  of  the  people,  "they 
entered  into  an  oath  and  curse  to  walk  in  God's  law,  which 
was  given  by  the  hand  of  Moses,  the  servant  of  God,  and  to 
observe  (ii^l^'h)  and  do  all  the  commandments  (nivo,  compare 
ver.  5)  of  the  Lord  our  God,  and  his  judgments  and  his 
statutes." 

Ver.  3.  Be  not  hasty  to  go  out  of  his  sight;  compare 
Genesis  iv.  16,  "and  Cain  went  out  from  the  presence  of  the 
Lord ;"  Jonah  i.  3,  "  and  Jonah  rose  up  to  flee  to  Tarshish 
from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  ;"  and  Hosea  xi.  2,  where  "•jso 
l^n  is  used  of  apostacy  from  the  living  God  (John  vi.  6Q). 
When  severe  suffering  beialls  a  man  he  is  tempted  to  turn 
away  from  God :  compare  Job  ii.  9,  "  then  said  his  wife  unto 
him.  Dost  thou  still  retain  thine  integrity  ?  Bless  God  and 
die."  Job  answers  thereto — "  As  one  of  the  foolish  women 
speakest  thou.  Do  we  take  good  at  the  hand  of  God,  and 
shall  we  not  receive  the  evil?"  "In  all  this,"  we  read,  "  Job 
sinned  not,"  although  his  circumstances  rendered  him  exceed- 


CHAPTER  VIII.  1-8.  195 

ingly  liable  to  sin."  In  chap,  xxxvi.  ]  3,  Elihu  speaks  of  the 
"  impious,  who  heap  up  wrath,"  when  God  binds  them,  that 
is,  when  He  visits  them  with  heavy  sufferings.  "Their 
soul,"  says  he,  "  dies  in  j^outh,  and  their  life  is  among  the 
degraded."  Psalm  xxxvii.  1,  admonishes  us  not  to  "fret  our- 
selves because  of  evil-doers,"  and  warns  us  against  being- 
seduced  into  apostacy  from  the  living  God,  and  into  wicked 
courses,  by  the  sight  of  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked  and  of 
the  power  which  they  wield.  "  O  man,  though  thy  cross 
press  thee  without  end,  though  thy  sufferings  be  ever  so 
severe,  become  not  a  rebel  against  God  :"  thus  would  the 
writer  address  the  covenanted  people  groaning  beneath  the 
hard  yoke  of  the  heathen  world.  Stand  not  in  an  evil  thing. 
Several  commentators  explain,  "remain  not  therein."  But 
"  remain  "  does  not  suit  the  connection.  The  idea  evidently 
is,  that  we  should  not  allow  ourselves  to  be  seduced  by 
suffering  into  the  paths  of  sin,  into  despair  of  God,  into  infrac- 
tions of  his  sacred  ordainments,  and  endeavours  to  work  out 
our  own  deliverance  in  our  strength  and  way  :  compare 
Psalm  xxxvii.  8 — "cease  from  anger  and  forsake  wrath,  fret 
not  thyself  in  any  wise  to  do  evil :"  on  which  J,  Arnd  re- 
marks— "  many  of  them  do  evil  things  in  wrath,  revenge, 
and  impatience,  of  which  they  repent  in  eternity."  noy  must 
consequently  be  understood  here  as  in  Psalm  i.  1 — "Stand 
not  in  the  way  of  sinners :"  sin  is  represented  as  an  evil  spot 
on  which  we  should  not  take  our  post.  For  he  doeth  ivhat- 
soever  pleaseth  him  :  into  a  worse  situation  it  is  impossible 
to  be  betrayed,  than  to  make  oranipotence,  in  the  person  of 
God,  our  enemy,  as  we  inevitably  do  when  we  suffer  our- 
selves to  be  carried  away,  by  impatience,  to  evil  things,  in- 
stead of  'following  the  counsel,  "  Be  silent  to  the  Lord,  and 
wait  patiently  for  him."  Referred  to  an  earthly  king,  no 
satisfactory  explanation  can  be  given  of  this  verse.  How 
liW:le  even  the  very  first  words  suit  such  an  application  is 
evident  from  the  frequent  attempts  which  have  been  made  to 
alter  their  sense,  as,  for  example,  by  Knobel :  "  Be  not  hasty 
to  revolt  from  him."  Very  few  persons  indeed  ever  got  to 
see  the  face  of  an  eastern  king,  and  when  they  did,  to  go 
away  or  to  remain,  lay  not  in  their  choice.  "  Apud  Persas," 
says  Justinus  i.  9,  "persona  regis  sub  specie  majestatis  occu- 


196  CHAPTER  VIII.   1-8. 

litur  ;  Xenophon  says  in  liis  Agesil.  ix.  1,  6  /xb  Usf^arig  tm 
evaviifig  opaadai  hi/Mvvvsro  ;  according  to  Aristotle,  "  de  Mundo," 
the  Persian  monarch  was  'xavri  doparoc, — compare  Esther  iv. 
11 — and  on  this  passage,  Baumgarten,  "de  fide  hist.  Hbri 
Esthera?,"  8  2.  Moreover,  an  Israelite  cannot  say  of  an  earthly 
monarch — "he  doeth  whatsoever  it  pleaseth  him."  It  would 
be  a  denial  of  God  on  high.  Nebuchadnezzar,  it  is  true,  says 
to  Daniel's  three  companions — "  Let  us  see  who  that  God  is 
that  shall  deliver  you  out  of  mine  hand "  (Daniel  iii.  1 5) : 
but  they  answer,  "  Behold,  the  God  whom  we  honour  is  able 
to  deliver  us  from  the  burning  fiery  furnace,  and  out  of  thine 
hand,  0  king,  will  he  deliver  us."  Overwhelmed  by  facts 
Nebuchadnezzar  himself  was  forced  to  say  of  Jehovah — "  his 
dominion  is  an  everlasting  dominion,  and  his  kingdom  is  from 
generation  to  generation,"  (Daniel  iv.  34). 

-  Ver.  4.  Because  the  word  of  the  Icing  is  ruler.  jid^K'  is 
used  to  denote  "  ruler  "  in  the  Chaldee  portion  of  Daniel :  see 
chap.  iii.  2,  3,  "  all  the  rulers  of  the  provinces."  The  rank 
which  they  vindicate  to  themselves  belongs,  truly  regai^ded,  to 
the  word  of  God.  |1D^5J'  must  be  regarded  here  and  in  vea\  8  as 
introduced  with  the  marks  of  quotation.  It  is  employed 
ironically.  And  ivho  can  say  to  him,  what  doest  thou  ? 
S.  Schmidt  remarks  on  Job  ix.  1 2 — '"est  interrogatio  in  jus 
vocantis  v.  auctoritate  superiore  prohibentis.  Desciibitur 
enim  hie  summum  dei  imperium  et  independentia  a  superiore." 
Knobel  is  compelled  to  observe,  "  The  formula  which  consti- 
tutes the  second  clause  is  never  used  except  to  glorify  the  divine 
power."  Compare  Job  ix.  1 2,  "  Behold  he  robbeth,  and  who 
shall  drive  him  back,  who  shall  say  unto  him,  What  doest 
thou?"  and  chap,  xxiii.  1 3,  "  and  he  is  one,  and  who  shall 
drive  him  back ;  and  what  his  soul  desireth,  even  that  he 
doeth."  See  also  the  "  Book  of  Wisdom  "  xii.  1 2,  rlc  yap  ipu  rt 
s'Troirjaag  jj  rig  dvriffrrjffirai  tui  '/.^l/jjaTi  gov  \  Isaiah  xlv.  9  ;  Jonah 
L   14. 

Ver.  5.  Whoso  keepeth  the  command,  that  is,  as  much  as, 
"whoso  standeth  not  in  an  evil  thing,"  (ver.  3).  mVD  is  to 
be  taken  as  a  kind  of  nomen  proprium,  signifying,  the  com- 
mand absolutely,  the  divine  command ;  compare  nivo  "iDK',  used 
n  1  Kings  xi.  34,  of  the  observance  of  the  divine  commands. 
Shall   experience  no  evil  thing :   whoso   avoids  the   evil  of 


CHAPTER  VIII.   1-8.  197 

guilt,  shall  be  spared  the  evil  of  imnishment.  Knobel's 
explanation  yT"  "  to  know,"  "  to  make  the  acquaintance,"  yn 
"im,  "  of  moral  culpability,"  does  not  suit  the  second  clause. 
He  may  fall  into  great  sufferings,  as  the  pious  in  Israel  were 
now  compelled  to  experience, — by  way  of  consolation  for  the 
bearers  of  the  cross  are  the  words  spoken — but  only  into  such 
sufferings  as  are  blessings,  when  more  carefully  examined,  and 
as  shall  have  a  joyous  termination  :  compare  Romans  viii.  28, 
o'ihaiMiv  6j,  on  roTg  aywzuSi  rov  &iov,  Taira  evvipyi/'iig  dyudov.  And 
a  wise  heart  discerneth  both  time  and  judgment.  According 
to  chap.  iii.  1 ,  "  the  time  "  can  only  be  the  time  of  the  inter- 
ference of  God.  "  Judgment"  consequently  must  refer  to  God's 
exercise  of  judgment  and  right.  Time  and  judgment  taken 
together,  signify  that  God  will  judge  at  his  own  time.  The 
meaning  of  the  entire  verse  is  as  follows  :  As  certainly  as 
God  in  his  own  time  shall  judge  righteously — a  thing  which 
is  known  to  the  wise  heart — so  certain  is  it,  that  those  who 
hold  God's  commands,  and  therefore  have  God  on  their  side, 
cannot  be  really  and  lastingly  unhappy.* 

Ver.  6.  For  to  every  desire — (of  wise  and  believing  hearts 
after  the  establishment  of  the  Kingdom  of  God,) — there  is 
time  and  right,  because  the  adversity  of  man  is  heavy  upon 
him.  Behind  Tiian  lies  concealed  the  monarch  of  the  tuorld. 
The  ground  whereof  is,  that  the  means  of  human  chastisement 
in  God's  hand  are  very  powerful,  n  "  great,"  see  on  chap.  vi.  1 . 
With  all  his  power  man  is  still  not  independent,  but  subject  to  the 
heavy  blows  of  fate.  Men  therefore  can  oppose  no  resistance 
when  God  proceeds  to  exercise  judgment  for  the  good  of  His 
people. 

Ver.  7.  For  he  hnovjeth  not  thcd  which  shcdl  be  :  before  one 
who  does  not  know  that,  we  should  not  be  afi-aid ;  to  his 
temporary  prosperity  we  should  attach  little  importance. 
To-morrow  it  may  be  all  over  with  him,  however  glorious  and 
brilliant  is  his  appearance  to-day.  If  we  only  have  God  on 
our  side,  we  may  be  calm  and  contented  even  in  the  midst  of 
oppression. 

Ver.   8.   There  is  no  man  that  hath  power  over  the  spirit, 

*  Gousset,  "scit  judicium  postea  venturum  certum  et  inevitahile  et  ideo 
patiens  est,  si  in  juste  a  magistratu  tractatur,  v.  si  interea,  dum  summi  regL= 
uiandata  servat,  aliquid  adversi  ei  contingat." 


198  CHAPTER  VIII.  1-8. 

to  retain  the  spirit.  In  this  point  also  the  monarch  of  the 
world  lies  hidden  behind  man.  When  the  hour  of  death  ap- 
pointed by  God  comes,  he  must  away.  In  Psalm  cxlvi.,  which 
was  composed  during  the  time  of  the  Persian  dominion,  it  is 
said,  (ver.  3,  4,)  "  Put  not  your  trust,"  (the  Psalmist  is  ad- 
dressing the  world,  the  great  nation,)  "  in  princes,  in  the  son 
of  man,  in  whom  is  no  help.  When  his  breath  goeth  forth  he 
returneth  to  his  earth  :  in  that  very  day  his  thoughts  perish." 
Jerome  writes — "  non  est  ergo  lugendum,  si  .  .  .  ssepe 
ab  iniquis  potentioribus  opprimamur,  quum  morte  omnia 
finiantur,  et  superbus  et  poteus  qui  cuncta  populatus  est,  non 
valeat  animam  suam  retinere  quum  rapitur."  And  there  is  no 
discharge  in  the  conflict,  which  God  carries  on  with  man. 
When  God  has  once  begun  the  strife  with  any  one,  He  does 
not  let  him  free.  He  does  not  desist,  until  He  has  brought  him 
to  ruin.  Illustrative  of  these  words  is  the  example  of  Pharaoh. 
The  discharge  does  not  refer  so  much  to  the  imprisonnoent, 
as  to  the  strife,  the  conflict  itself:  compare  Genesis  xxxii.  27, 
where  one  of  the  wrestlers  addresses  to  the  other  the  word 
"'jni'EJ',  "let  me  go."  Wickedness  delivereth  not  him  that  hath 
it,  notwithstanding  that  it  puts  powerful  and  apparently  irre- 
sistible means  at  his  disposal  They  have  only  importance 
until  God's  time  and  judgment  draw  nigh.  The  Berleburger 
Bible  remarks,  "  he  will  not  succeed  in  freeing  himself  in  this 
matter,  as  he  succeeded  in  freeing  himself  from  God's  law." 


CHAPTER  VIII.  9-13. 

Here  also  again  the  author  finds  the  occasion  for  his  utter- 
ances in  the  sufferings  of  the  people  of  God,  in  the  tyi-anny 
with  which  they  were  burdened.  The  consolation,  which  is 
offered  under  a  twofold  head,  (ver.  9  and  10,  and  ver.  11-13,) 
is  the  following — "  Look  to  the  end,  (Psalm  Ixxiii.  1 7,)  in  good 
time  God's  judgment  will  overthrow  the  wicked,  and  exalt  the 
righteous." 

Ver.  9.  All  this  saw  I,  in  that  I  applied  my  heart  to  every 
history  that  takes  place  under  the  sun  :  there  is  a  time  ^vhen 
'man  ruleth  over  men  to  their  misfortune.  Ver.  10.  And 
then  saw  I  the  wicked   buried,  and   they  carne,  and  from,  the 


CHAPTER  VIII.  9-13.  199 

place  of  the  holy,  they  ivent  forth.  And  they  were  forgotten 
m  the  city,  who  had  thus  done.  This  also  is  vanity.  Ver. 
11.  Because  a  sentence  is  not  pronounced,  the  ivork  of  wicked- 
ness hasteneth :  therefore  the  heart  of  the  sons  of  men  is 
fully  set  in  them  to  do  evil.  Ver.  1 2.  Let  a  sinner  do  evil 
an  hundred  times?  and  long  endure  !  Yet  surely  I  knoiv  that 
it  shall  be  well  with  men  that  fear  God,  which  fear  before 
him.  Ver.  13.  But  it  shall  not  be  well  with  the  wicked, 
neither  like  the  shadoiv  shall  he  long  endure,  which  feareth 
not  before  God. 

Ver.  9.  All  this,  that  is,  all  that  can  be  classed  under  the 
same  head  as  that  which  is  specially  mentioned  immediately 
after,  and  which  can  be  represented  thereby  ; — facts  namely, 
wliich,  when  superficially  examined  may  easily  prove  a  stumb- 
ling block  in  the  way  of  faith  (compare  chap.  vii.  15.) 
Jerome  says — "  Dedi  inquit  cor  meum,  ut  omne  quod  sub 
sole  geritur  intuerer,  et  hoc  vel  maxirae,  quod  homo  accepit  in 
hominem  potestatem,  ut  quoscunque  vult  afiiigat  atque 
condemnet.''  The  suffix  in  i^  refers  of  course  to  the  second 
mentioned  man.  The  present  verse  sets  forth  the  stumbling 
block  :  the  following  verse  shows  how  it  is  to  be  removed. 
That  a  hint  concerning  the  latter  cannot  be  contained  in  the 
present  verse  is  clear  from  the  word  pa  in  ver.   10,  alone. 

Ver.  10.  And  then  sato  I  the  wicked  buried.  in''K"i  serves 
here,  as  in  ver.  9,  to  render  the  description  more  vivid  and 
palpable.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  Solomon  here  speaks,  and 
not  the  author.  They  are  experiences  like  those  which  are 
alluded  to  by  Asaph  in  Psalm  Ixiii.,  such  as  took  their  rise 
from  the  conflict  between  evil  and  good  which  raged  in  the 
midst  of  the  covenant  people  itself  In  the  backgi'ound  how- 
ever stands  the  thought :  thus  will  the  Persian  Empire 
also  one  day  be  borne  to  the  grave.  J33  "  under  such  circum- 
stances," or  since  things  are  thus  situated :  as  a  Hebrew 
word  it  occurs,  besides  here,  only  in  Esther  iv.  1  6.  Not  to 
be  buried,  is  frequently  represented  as  a  punishment  of  the 
godless  :  compare  on  chap.  vi.  3.  The  untimely  comparison 
of  these  two  passages  has  led  many  commentators  into  the 
error  of  supposing  that  burial,  which,  on  their  own  authority 
they  have  here  converted  into  an  honourable  one,  (Cartwright, 
for  example,  who  says,  "  sepulturam,  et  illam  quidem  amplam 


200  CHAPTER  VIII.   9-13. 

et  dignitatis  plenam  consequi,  in  benedictione  dei  jure  numer- 
atur,")  is  represented  as  an  advantage  enjoyed  by  the  wicked. 
But  the  wicked  condemned  by  God  are  buried  in  Ezekiel 
xxxii.  23-24,  xxxix.  11,  also  :  so  too  the  godless  rich  man  of 
the  Gospels,  (Luke  xvi.  22.)  And  they  came.  Whither,  may 
be  learnt  from  the  preceding  D"'n3p;  namel5^,  into  the  grave: 
and  thus  an  end  is  put  to  all  their  prosperity,  their  wealth 
and  their  efforts  to  injure  the  righteous.  And  from  the 
place  of  the  holy  went  they  forth,  "la^n''  forms  the  contrast  to 
IKl.  They  come  into  the  grave  and  are  thus  removed  from  the 
place  where  their  presence  gave  such  offence.  Worthy  of  note 
is  it  that  Dipo  stands  in  the  stat.  constr.  It  is  not  said,  "  from 
the  holy  place,"  but,  "  from  the  place  of  the  holy,"  that  is,  the 
place  to  which  the  holy  belong  :  "  the  holy"  must  here  be  re- 
garded as  ideal  persons.  They  must  leave  the  place  in  which 
their  existence  and  presence  is  something  abnormal.  The 
Holy  are  the  true  members  of  the  Church  of  the  Lord,  (com- 
pare the  remarks  in  my  Christology  on  Isaiah  iv.  3.)  Paral- 
lel is  Isaiah  lii.  1,  ''put  on  thy  festival  garments,  O  Jerusalem, 
thou  holy  city,  for  henceforth  there  shall  no  more  come  into 
thee  the  uncircumcised  and  the  unclean  : "  and  chap.  xlix.  1 7, 
"  thy  destroyers  and  those  that  laid  thee  waste  shall  go  forth 
of  thee."  And  they  were  forgotten  in  the  city,  tvho  had 
thus  done.  Compare  Proverbs  x.  7,  "the  memory  of  the  just 
is  blessed,  but  the  name  of  the  wicked  shall  rot :"  also  Psalm 
Ixxiii.  19,  20,  "how  are  they  brought  to  desolation  in  a 
moment,  they  are  utterly  consumed  with  terrors.  As  a  dream, 
when  one  awaketh,  so  dost  thou  in  the  city  despise  their 
image."  Many  commentators  have  been  led  into,  an  entirely 
mistaken  view  of  the  whole  verse  by  the  translation — "  who 
have  done  justice,"  or,  "  who  have  rightly  acted."  It  may 
still  be  fairly  doubted  whether  p  ever,  as  a  neuter,  signifies 
"  rectum,"  and  adverbially,  "  recte."  In  most  of  the  passages 
adduced  in  favour  of  this  rendering,  the  common  and  there- 
fore the  simplest  meaning  "  thus,"  is  plainly  the  most  suitable. 
Even  in  the  two  which  seem  most  in  its  favour,  namely  in 
Numbers  xxxvi.  5  ;  xxvii.  7,  the  translation  "  thus,"^ — "  thus 
speak  they  of  the  tribe  of  Joseph  :  thus  speak  the  daughters, 
etc." — is  rendered  probable  by  a  comparison  of  Matthew  xxvi. 
25,  and  John  xviii.  37.      When  any  one  who  is  solicited  for 


CHAPTER  VIII.  9-13.  201 

a  decision,  speaks  of  the  petition  as  reported  or  as  being 
inquired  into,  consent  is  implied.  Here,  however,  in  any 
case  must  p  be  taken  in  its  usual  meaning  on  account  of 
the  unmistakable  reference  to  the  foregoing  p3.  This  also 
is  vanity,  to  wit,  that  man  should  rule  over  man  to  his 
misfortune, — the  doings  of  tyrants.  It  is  vanity  because 
of  the  sudden  catastrophe  which  befals  it, — vanity  because  it 
suddenly  comes  to  nought  and  ends  in  horror.  In  regard  to 
the  prosperity  of  the  wicked,  of  the  heathen  tyrants,  it  is  said 
also  in  chap.  vii.  6,  "this  also  is  vanity."  The  Berleburger 
Bible  says,  "  O  how  foolish  are  men  not  to  prove  and  judge 
such  things  more  wisely,  not  to  see  how  vainly  they  act !" 
Faith  receives  here  as  in  Psalm  Ixxiii.  the  victory,  in  that  by 
the  grace  of  God  it  discerns  that  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked 
as  well  as  the  sufferings  of  the  righteous  are  only  transitory. 
Ver.  11.  Because  a  sentence  is  not  pronounced — that  is, 
because  the  heavenly  edict  is  delayed — the  tvork  of  wickedness 
hasteneth :  that  is,  because  they  go  unpunished  the  wicked 
are  confirmed  in  their  wickedness  :  compare  Isaiah  xxvi.  1 0, 
"  Let  favour  be  shov^ed  to  the  wicked  yet  will  he  not  learn 
righteousness.  On  the  earth,  where  one  should  do  right,  he 
commits  iniquity."  DJna,  signifying  "word"  in  general,  and 
then  specially  "  mandate,  edict,"  is  probably  of  Persian  origin, 
and  it  seems  to  have  been  used,  as  it  were  technically,  for  the 
edicts  of  the  Persian  kings  :  compare  Esther  i.  20  ;  Ezra  iv. 
17  ;  vi.  11 ;  Daniel  iii.  16.  The  only  passage  where  the  word 
elsewhere  occurs  in  Hebrew  is  the  one  in  Esther  just  quoted : 
otherwise  it  is  only  found  in  the  Chaldee  of  Daniel  and  Ezra 
Here,  as  also  in  Daniel  iv.  14,  it  is  then  transferred  to  the 
decrees  of  heaven.  We  must  consider  it  as  introduced  with 
signs  of  quotation.  DJDD  occurs  in  connection  with  hk'V  i^ 
Esther  i.  20  also:  "the  edict  of  the  king  which  he  makes." 
Since  ps  means  "  it  is  not,"  njj'yj  can  only  be  a  participle. 
Dins  is  here  therefore  treated  as  a  feminine.  The  explanation — 
"  the  judgment  on  the  work  of  wickedness," — is  contrary  to 
the  accents  :  besides  djhd  is  never  elsewhere  employed  with 
the  genitive  of  the  object,  and  it  is  questionable  whether  it 
can  be  so  employed,  nino  is  properly  a  noun,  signifying 
"haste  :"  it  is  so  used  in  chap  iv.  12  :  see  too  Psalm  cxlvii. 
1 5,  mnioa,  "  in  haste."     It  is  best  to  take  it  in  this  sense  here 


202  CHAPTER  VIII.  9-13. 

also — "Haste,"  for,  "hasty."  The  adverb  "hastily,"  miglit 
veiy  jfitly  take  the  place  of  the  adjective  :  see  Ewald,  §  296  d. 
Therefore  the  heart  of  the  sons  of  men  is  fully  set  in  them  to 
do  evil,  in  that  they  are  purposed  to  drive  out  \dolence  with 
violence,  and,  falling  into  error  concerning  God,  seek  to  secure 
prosperity  for  themselves,  by  the  same  means  as  the  fortunate 
wicked.  The  "children  of  men"  are  those  who  suffer  at  the 
hands  of  prosperous  wickedness,  with  special  reference  to  Israel 
as  oppressed  by  tne  fortunate  powers  of  this  world.  How  the 
wicked  are  confirmed  in  their  wickedness  by  their  prosperity, 
and  how  the  suffering  are  thereby  tempted  to  apostatize  from 
God,  is  vividly  and  to  the  life  described  in  Psalm  Ixxiii.  The 
"heart  becomes  full"  of  evil  inclinations,  so  full  that  they 
violently  break  forth  in  deeds  of  wiickedness  ;  compare  the 
remarkably  similar  passage  in  Esther  vii.  5  :  then  also 
Acts  V.  3. 

Ver.  ]  2.  The  author  does  not  however  let  himself  be  de- 
ceived by  that  which  is  now  visible.  We  may  have  to  wait 
■  for  God's  righteous  decision,  but  in  its  own  time  it  will  cer- 
tainly come.  itj'N,  "  (be  it)  that,"  which  is  as  much  as  to  say, 
"May  it,  let  it,  even"  (be).  A  cognate  use  of  the  word  is 
found  in.  Leviticus  iv.  22  ;  Deuteronomy  xi.  27  ;  xviii.  22, 
where  -itj'N,  signifies,  "  (supposing)  that."  To  nso,  must  D^oys 
be  supplied.  For  remarks  on  ^nxn  compare  chap.  vii.  15. 
1^  is  the  dat.  comm.  The  word  '•j  assigns  the  reason  why  the 
writer  does  not  gTudge  the  wicked  his  prosperity. 

Ver.  1 3.  Inasmuch  as  long  duration  is  a  relative  idea,  the 
long  duration  previously  attributed  to  the  wicked  does  not 
contradict  the  assertion  made  here,  that  he  will  not  endure 
long.  Of  the  Persian  Empire,  which  the  author  has  here  pri- 
marily in  view,  both  assertions  held  at  the  same  time  good, — 
it  lasted  long,  and  yet  it  lasted  a  short  time.  All  depends  on 
the  standard  applied.  As  the  shadoiu  :  fleeting,  transitory  as 
the  shadow  which  vanishes  with  the  setting  sun,  and  leaves 
not  a  trace  behind  (compare  Psalm  cxliv.  4  ;  Book  of  Wis- 
dom, ii.  5.) 


CHAPTER  VIII.  14-17.  203 


CHAPTER  VIII.  14-17. 


The  sufferings  of  the  people  of  God  constitute  still  the  point 
of  departure,  as  in  verses  ]  -8  and  in  verses  9-1 3.  Instead  of 
racking  our  brains  over  their  fate,  we  should  rejoice  at  the 
good  gifts  of  God  which  remain.  Speculation  and  questioning 
conduct  to  no  result,  for  the  divine  counsels  are  incomprehen- 
sible by  man. 

Ver.  14.  There  is  a  vanity  vjliich  is  clone  upon  earth,  that 
there  be  just  men  to  whom  it  happeneth  according  to  the  vjork  of 
the  wicked,  and  that  there  he  wicked  men  to  luhom  it  happeneth 
according  to  the  work  of  the  righteous  :  I  said  that  this  also 
is  vanity.  Ver.  15.  And  I  commended  mirth,  that  nothing 
is  better  for  man  under  the  sun  than  to  eat,  and  to  drink, 
and  to  be  merry,  and  that  abides  with  him  in  his  labour 
through  the  days  of  his  life,  tuhich  God  giveth  him  under  the 
sun.  Ver.  16.  When  I  applied  my  heart  to  know  wisdom, 
and  to  see  the  travail  which  takes  place  on  the  earth,  that 
neither  day  nor  night  doth  he  see  sleep  tvith  his  eyes.  Ver. 
17.  So  I  beheld  the  whole  icork  of  God,  that  man  cannot  find 
out  the  luork  that  is  done  under  the  sun,  for  the  sake  of  vjhich 
man  labours  to  seek  it  out,  and  findeth  it  not;  yea,  further, 
though  a  wise  man  should  think  to  knoiu  it,  he  cannot  find  it. 

Ver.  1 4.  That  the  lots  of  the  righteous  and  the  wicked  are 
not  seldom  mixed  up  with  each  other,  is  a  vanity,  and  is  iiv- 
tended  to  be  a  vanity.  Taking  man  to  be  what  he  now  actu- 
ally is,  these  things  go  to  constitute  the  best  world  we  can 
conceive  ;  and  Elster's  remark,  that  "  facts  cannot  fail  to  make 
a  bitter  and  gloomy  impression,"  holds  good  only  of  the  natu- 
ral man  in  the  believer :  the  spiritual  man  judges  quite  dif- 
ferently. Righteousness  would  too  soon  disappear  if  its  re- 
ward were  bestowed  on  it  immediately,  and,  as  it  were,  piece 
by  piece.  Godliness  perishes  as  soon  as  it  becomes  a  matter 
of  trade  :  it  is  not  meant  that  the  righteous  should  find  their 
satisfaction  in  an  open  and  manifest  recompence.  If  there 
existed  nem  righteous  as  they  should  be,  righteous  throughout, 
of  one  piece,  then  the  experience  here  set  forth  would  of  course 
be  suspicious.      But  as  things  actually  are,  wliilst  sin  dwells 


204  CHAPTER  VIII.  14-17. 

even  in  the  righteous,  so  long  as  they  need  to  be  punished  and 
guarded,  so  long  as  they  wander  too  readily  from  the  right 
path,  and  especially,  so  long  as  they  are  prone  to  serve  God 
for  hire,  the  facts  under  consideration  offer  no  difficulty  to 
those  who  stand  really  in  righteousness.  They  may  be  and 
are  not  seldom  fiercely  perplexed  and  harassed  thereby,  but 
that  is  all.  Really  meant  complaints  at  such  experiences 
proceed  only  from  such  as,  without  authority  or  right,  reckon 
themselves  among  the  righteous  ; — ^as  may  be  clearly  seen  in 
Malachi.  Without  doubt,  however,  as  is  proved  by  a  consi- 
derable number  of  declarations  even  from  this  book,  the  re- 
semblance between  the  fate  of  the  righteous  and  that  of  the 
wicked,  is  but  an  external  and  partial  one.  All  things  must 
finally  work  together  for  the  good  of  those  who  love  God : 
the  end  will  separate  the  righteous  from  the  wicked.  /  said 
that  this  also  is  vanity;  "  this  also" — this  doubtful  condition 
of  the  pious  and  the  ungodly.  Vanity,  that  is,  it  is  to  be 
counted  as  part  of  the  misery  and  wretchedness  of  this  life,  to 
which  even  believers  are  subject  and  with  which  they  must 
put  up.  He  is,  of  course,  a  poor  fool,  who  devotes  himself  to 
righteousness  in  order  to  become  rich  and  honoured,  in  order 
to  lose  none  of  his  family  or  friends,  and  so  forth. 

Ver.  ]  5.  This  onirth,  is  the  cheerful  enjoyment  of  those 
gifts  of  God  which  do  not  fail  us  even  in  circumstances  of 
need,  and  is  put  in  contrast  to  the  habit  of  looking  out  for  an 
open  and  splendid  reward  of  righteousness — the  consequence 
of  the  non-bestowal  of  which  is  gloomy  discontent.  Jewish 
speculators  in  righteousness  thought  that  they  must  at  once 
rule  the  heathen  with  a  sceptre  of  iron  ;  and  when  they  found 
that  the  exact  contrary  was  the  case,  they  hung  their  heads, 
refused  to  find  anything  more  to  their  liking,  and  grew  dis- 
satisfied with  God  and  the  world.  The  "  mirth"  spoken  of 
here  is  quite  consistent  with  the  deep  earnestness  in  life  re- 
commended by  Koheleth  in  chap.  vii.  Iff!  It  is  a  joy  which 
is  the  direct  outflow  of  a  piety  that  thankfully  accepts  what 
God  gives,  and  refuses  to  be  disturbed  in  its  enjoyment  thereof 
by  unfounded  pretensions.  The  Berleburger  Bible  remarks — 
"  Mirth,  that  is,  a  godly  joyfulness  and  cheerfulness  of  heart ; 
in  that,  namely,  the  righteous,  when  he  has  anything  to  en- 
dure amidst  the  vanities  of  the  world,  which  are  universal. 


CHAPTER  Vm.   1 -i-1 7.  205 

and  are  saddled  on  all  alike,  maintains  and  displays  by  faith 
in  God  a  spirit  calm  and  free  from  cares  ;  and  in  all  the  divine 
arrangements  proves  himself  prompt  and  lively.  TJuit  he 
should  eat  and  drink  and  be  merry,  that  is,  that  he  calmly 
and  with  fitting  cheerfulness  enjoy  what  God  bestows  on  him. 
This  had  been  ah'eady  said  m  chap.  ii.  24;  iii.  ]  2,  22  ;  it  is 
here  again  repeated,  and  not  without  reason,  but  to  serve  an- 
other purpose,  namely,  as  an  answer  to  the  objection  just 
urged." 

Ver.  16.  The  travail  here  mentioned  is  that  into  which 
those  fall  who  seek  to  fathom,  and  rack  their  brains  about,  the 
ways  of  God :  wherein  those  are  usually  the  most  zealous 
"who  are  endowed  with  least  capacity  to  answer  the  questions 
raised.  The  problem  is  in  itself  an  exceedingly  difficult  one, 
but  the  solution  becames  enormously  more  difficult  v,^hen  at- 
tempted by  those  who  lack  knowledge  of  the  depths  of  human 
sinfulness.  And  this  was  a  characteristic  fault  of  the  author's 
age  :  hence  was  there  so  much  murmuring  and  racking  of 
brains.  The  .author  turns  his  heart  to  know  wisdom,  and  (in 
spirit)  to  see  (in  the  light  of  wisdom)  the  travail.  pjy  can 
only  mean  "  travail,"  "  torment,"  not  "  business,"  as  may  be 
seen  on  comparing  chap.  ii.  26,  and  especially  chap.  iii.  10. 
Wliat  "  travail "  is  meant,  we  are  informed  in  the  words — 
"  that  he  does  not  see ;"  namely,  that  man,  who  is  s]5oken  of 
both  before  and  afterwards,  is  unable  to  fathom  the  divine 
counsels  in  the  distribution  of  fates,  even  though  he  apply 
himself  earnestly  to  the  work.  Knobel  explains  quite  in- 
correctly— "  man  who  is  restlessly  busy,  and  through  sheer 
activity  gets  no  sleep." 

Ver.  1 7.  The  "  travail "  proves  itself  to  be  useless.  We 
walk  by  faith  and  not  by  sight,  and  blessed  are  they  that  see 
not  and  yet  believe.  Therefore  should  we  leave  off  worrying 
our  minds.  Blessed  is  the  man  who  takes  without  question- 
ing what  God  sends  him,  in  the  firm  confidence  that,  how- 
ever perverted  it  may  appear,  it  is  the  right  thing,  and  that 
all  things  must  work  together  for  the  good  of  those  who  love 
God.  Jerome  says — "  Subostendot  tamen  esse  causas  rerum 
omnium  et  justitiam,  quare  unumquod({ue  sic  fiat :  sed  in 
occulto  eas  latere  et  non  posse  ab  hominibus  comprehendi :" 
and  Cartwright,   "  si  enim  opera,  quae  fecit  Salomo,  sapientem 


206  CHAPTER  IX.   1-10. 

reginam  Sabse  in  admirationem  ita  abripiunt  ut  non  esset 
amplius  in  ilia  spiritus,  quanto  magis  opera  dei,  omnem  nos- 
tram  intelligentiam  superantia,  nos  in  admirationem  ejus  ad- 
ducant  ?  Ut  enim  qiiisque  est,  ita  sunt  ejus  opera."  Then 
saw  I  the  whole  work  of  God :  in  what  aspect  he  sees  it  and 
knows  it,  to  wit,  in  respect  of  its  unsearchahleness,  we  are 
informed  by  the  words — that  man  cannot  find,  etc.  In  the 
Berleburger  Bible  we  read — "  0  ye  poor  blind  men,  who 
think  by  your  philosophy  to  fathom  the  grounds  of  the  divine 
leadings,  ye  are  justly  cheated !  Ye  disapprove  of  all  that 
are  beyond  human  comprehension,  when  ye  ought  rather  to 
confess  that  the  higher  they  transcend  your  conceptions,  so 
much  the  diviner  are  they.  The  more  pains  you  take  to 
fathom  the  secrets  of  wisdom  by  your  reflection,  the  farther 
are  you  from  reaching  your  aim.  Of  the  possession  of  true 
wisdom  the  best  sign  is  when  a  man  is  assured  that  he  cannot 
comprehend  the  mysteries  of  the  divine  dealings  with  souls." 


CHAPTER  IX.  1-10. 

This  section  falls  into  two  parts,  the  temj^tation  which 
assails  (verses  1-6),  and  the  alleviation  and  comfort,  {xal  1x6- 
'zaffcv  6  avs/xog,  xai  sysviTO  yaX^vri  /jbsydXrj  Mark  iv.  39),  (ver.  7-10). 
The  temptation,  in  regard  to  which  the  author  appears  as 
the  representative  of  the  tone  of  mind  then  prevailing  amongst 
the  people,  takes  its  rise  in  the  same  fact  as  that  which  was 
considered  in  the  foregoing  section,  namely,  in  the  sufferings 
of  the  people  of  God,  Since  God  looks  calmly  on  whilst  the 
wicked  swallows  up  him  who  is  more  righteous  than  himself 
(Habakkuk  i.  18),  it  seems  as  if  there  were  no  retribution  to 
be  found  on  earth,  as  if  the  righteous  were  deprived  of 
their  reward  (verses  1-3)  :  furthermore,  the  gloom  and  sad- 
ness which  must  take  possession  of  the  soul  in  consequence 
of  such  thoughts  are  deepened  by  the  prospect  of  that  which 
awaits  us  after  this  life  (verses  4-6).  Against  such  dark 
discontent,  however,  the  sjyirit  raises  its  voice  in  verses  7-10, 
and  answers  that  God  has  pleasure  in  the  works  of  his  people, 
and  that  in  good  time  the  now  failing  retribution  will  come. 
In  view  of  the  glorious  future  the  eye  should  be  turned  away 


CHAPTER  IX.  1-10.  207 

from  the  gloomy  present,  and  we  sliould  be  joyful  through 
hope.  Above  all,  should  we  not  give  ourselves  up  to  a  de- 
spairing inactivity,  but  call  forth  all  our  powers  to  fulfil  the 
task  which  is  set  us  for  the  present  life. 

Ver.  1.  For  all  this  I  took  to  heart  and  (indeed)  thereby 
I  fathomed  all  this — that  the  righteous  and  the  ivise,  and 
their  works,  are  in  the  hand  of  God  ;  neither  love  nor  hatred 
doth  man  knovj,  all  things  are  before  them.  Ver.  2.  All 
things  as  to  all :  one  event  to  the  righteous  and  to  the  tvicked; 
to  the  good  and  to  the  clean  and  to  the  unclean  ;  to  him  that 
sacrificeth  and  to  him  that  sacrificeth  not :  as  the  sinner,  so 
the  good  :  he  that  sweareth  is  as  he  that  feareth  an  oath. 
Ver.  3.  That  is  evil  among  all  things  that  are  done  under 
the  sun,  that  there  is  one  event  to  all :  yea  also  the  heart  of 
the  sons  of  men  is  full  of  evil,  and  folly  is  in  their  heart 
ivhile  they  live,  and  after  that  (they  go)  to  the  dead.  Ver.  4. 
For  tvho  is  preferred  ?  In  all  the  living  one  may  trust,  for 
a,  living  dog  is  better  than  a  dead  lion.  Ver.  5.  For  the 
living  knoiv  that  they  shall  die,  and  the  dead  knoiv  nothing 
at  all :  neither  have  they  any  more  a  reivard,  for  the  meTiiory 
of  them  is  forgotten.  Ver.  6.  Their  love  and  also  their 
hatred  and  their  envy  is  vanished  :  neither  have  they  any 
"more  for  ever  a  portion  in  anything  that  is  done  under  the 
sun.  Ver.  7.  Go  thy  way,  eat  thy  bread  in  joy  and  drink 
thy  wine  with  a  good  heaii  ;  for  God  hath  pleasure  in  thy 
works.  Ver.  8.  Let  thy  garments  be  always  white,  and  let  thy 
head  lack  no  ointment.  Ver.  9.  Look  upon  life  with  the  ivife 
whom  thou  lovest.  all  the  days  of  thy  vain  life,  tvhich  he 
giveth  thee  under  the  sun  :  all  the  days  of  thy  vain  life,  for 
that  is  thy  portion  in  life,  and  in  thy  labour  ivhich  thou 
takest  under  the  sun.  Ver.  10.  All  that  thy  hand  findeth  to 
do  by  thy  power,  do,  for  there  is  no  tvork  nor  device,  nor 
knowledge,  nor  vAsdom  in  the  hell  ivhither  thou  goest. 

Ver.  1.  The  word  "  for"  points  to  the  connection  between 
this  discussion  and  that  of  chap.  viii.  1  4-17.  A  further  con- 
firmation is  here  set  forth  of  the  result  there  arrived  at,  to 
wit,  of  the  unsearchableness  of  the  ways  of  God.  The  righteous 
and  the  wise  are  in  the  hand  of  God,  in  His  power,  so  that  He 
does  with  them  what  He  will.  No  one,  by  his  own  intentions 
and  his  own  acts  can  determine  his  fate.     That  acts  are  not 


208  CHAPTER  IX.   1-10. 

spoken  of  here,  in  themselves,  as  acts,  as  if  we  were  compelled, 
without  any  exercise  of  will,  to  do  what  God  pleases  ;  but 
with  regard  to  their  results,  in  so  far  that  the  saddest  fate 
may  folloiu  on  the  best  deed,  is  clear  from  the  whole  context, 
in  which  only  what  befalls  man,  not  what  man  does,  is  con- 
sidered. Ver.  2  especially,  which  may  serve  as  a  commentary 
to  the  present  one,  proves  this.  For  the  same  reason  what  is 
said  of  love  and  haired  cannot  be  referred  to  human  affections, 
— as  Hitzig  does  when  he  writes,  "  Inasmuch  as  man  has  not 
his  acts  in  his  own  power,  he  does  not  know  whether  he  will 
love  or  hate," — but  only  to  the  good  and  evil  providential 
arrangements  in  which  God's  love  and  hatred  seem  to  embody 
themselves.  J.  D.  Michaelis  justly  observes,  "  In  this  world 
we  cannot  tell  by  the  events  of  life  whether  God  loves  us  or 
hates  us,  because  to  the  righteous  it  happens  as  to  the  un- 
righteous ;  nor  can  we  even  know  whether  God  means  to  show 
us  love  by  sending  prosperity,  or  hatred  by  sending  adversity." 
In  all  the  last  sections  the  historical  occasion  of  the  Author's 
words  was  the  miserable  fate  of  the  people  of  God  at  the 
time  of  his  writing.  We  read  in  Malachi  i.  2, — "  I  love  you, 
saith  the  Lord,  yet  ye  say,  wherein  dost  thou  love  us  ? " 
"God  loves  us  not,  although  we  are  worthy  of  His  love," — 
that  is  the  reproach  against  God,  which  the  Prophet  exposes 
at  the  very  beginning  ;  and  which  we  may  therefore  judge  to 
have  been  a  kind  of  watchword  at  the  time.  The  translation 
of  the  Vulgate — "  nescit  homo,  utrum  amore  an  odio  dignus 
sit,"  has  quite  missed  the  right  sense.  Complaints  were  raised 
that  he  who  was  worthy  of  the  divine  love  did  not  experience 
it  in  God's  leadings.  Man,  that  is,  in  accordance  with  what 
precedes,  more  precisely,  "  the  wise  and  righteous  man  : "  a 
similar  usage  is  found  in  Psalm  xxxvi.  8,  where  the  connection 
shows  that  by  the  children  of  men,  we  are  to  understand,  the 
citizens  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  All  things  are  before  them, 
that  is,  may  happen  to  them  :  the  righteous  man  is  not  as- 
sured against  anything.  J.  D.  Michaelis  remarks,  "All  things 
have  they  before  them,  that  is,  there  is  the  same  probability 
that  a  man  will  be  loved  as  that  he  will  be  hated,  that  in 
prosperity  he  wiU  experience  proofs  of  God's  grace,  or  in  ad- 
versity pioofs  of  his  disfavour.  The  one  experience  is  as  easy 
to  be  conceived  as  the  other." 


CHAPTER  IX.   1-10.  209 

Ver.  2.  The  expression — all  things  as  to  all — presents  no 
difficulty  when  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  in  ver.  1,  "  Man,"  is 
used  instead  of,  the  wise  and  righteous,  by  way  of  intimating 
his  absolute  dependence  on  the  heavenly  powers.  "  All  things" 
(happen  to  the  wise  and  righteous,)  "  as  to  all,"  that  is,  as  to 
the  rest :  they  have  no  peculiar  fate,  such  as  was  promised  to 
Israel,  who,  in  the  Books  of  Moses,  is  represented  as  being  put 
under  God's  most  special  providence  and  care  ; — they  share 
the  universal  destiny.  A  commentary  on  this  intentionally 
short  and  enigmatical  saying  is  furnished  by  what  follows. 
Knobel  has  a  specific  against  the  temptations  and  difficulties 
which  assailed  the  author  so  teriibly,  and  with  which  believers 
of  all  times  have  to  wage  fierce  warfare,  namely,  "  we  must 
distinguish  between  the  physical  and  moral  order  of  the  world ; 
physical  evils  are  experienced  by  all  without  exception  ;  the 
pious  cannot  evade  them  because  of  their  morality,  and  yet 
they  have  not  to  endure  the  special  punishments  of  immor- 
ality." But  if  we  make  the  "  physical"  independent  of  God, 
and  thus  strip  God  of  his  ti-ue  Godhead,  and  we  ourselves  at 
the  same  time  fall  into  semi-atheism,  the  remedy  is  worse 
than  the  disease.  Event  or  accident,  is  not  set  in  opposition 
to  the  divine  ordainment,  but  to  independent  action  on  the 
part  of  the  righteous,  (compare  ii.  14,  15  ;  iii.  19.)  31D  is 
prefixed  to  iiriD  with  the  design  of  showing  that  the  terms 
"  clean,  vmclean,"  are  to  be  taken  not  in  the  juridical  or  levit- 
ical  sense,  but  in  the  moral  sense.  A  sufficient  evidence  of 
this  is,  that  elsewhere  one  only  is  set  in  opposition  to  the 
other :  besides,  31D  occurs  again,  to  show  that  in  the  first  in- 
stance it  serves  the  purpose  of  explaining  or  defining  more 
clearly  that  which  follows.  He  that  sweareth — (under  certain 
circumstances,  be  it  observed,  a  man  may  swear  and  yet  not 
be  what  is  meant  by  the  designation  "  swearer,")  refers  here 
to  one  who  swears  in  a  frivolous  manner.  The  words  stand 
in  renip.rkable  parallelism  to  Matthew  v.  34.  To  fear  an  oath, 
is  to  look  upon  it  with  holy  awe,  so  that  only  in  cases  of 
tiecessity  and  at  the  command  of  love  can  we  be  induced 
to  take  one  upon  ourselves.  It  is  evident  from  chap.  viii.  2, 
that  the  author  has  no  intention  whatever  of  rejecting  oaths 
altogether.  Cartwright  says,  "  notandum  etiam  adjunctum, 
quo  describit  improbum,  nempe  quod  jurat,  id  est  juramentis 


210  CHAPTER  IX.   1-10. 

iissuetus  est.  Ciijus  igitur  ori  juramenta  et  nominis  divini 
usurpatio  familiaris  et  trita  est,  ilium  improbum  esse  constat : 
contra  etiam  observandum  est,  pium  non  eum  appellari,  qni 
non  jurat,  sed  qui  a  juramento  sibi  metuit." 

Ver.  3.  Regarding  things  from  the  point  of  view  of  natural 
reason  and  in  a  rough  matter  of  fact  way,  judging  them  by 
the  vulgar  empirical  method  which  he  afterwards  rejects,  the 
author  goes  on  to  say,  "  that  is  evil  ;" — he  thus  "  sins  with 
his  tongue,"  as  it  is  said  in  Psalm  xxxix.  2.  Parallel  is 
Psalm  Ixxiii.  1  6,  where  in  reference  to  the  same  fact  it  is  said 
— "and  I  considered  in  order  to  know  it:  a  pain  was  it  in 
mine  eyes."  But  the  Psalmist  speaks  thus  only  until  he  comes 
to  the  sanctuaiy  of  God :  then  a  light  suddenly  breaks  in 
upon  him  such  as  the  natural  reason  cannot  supply.  Cart- 
wright  compares  Malachi  iii.  1 4,  ff ,  where  the  Jews  are  intro- 
duced as  complaining,  that  it  is  in  vain  to  serve  God,  and  as 
resting  their  charge  on  the  fact  that  they  who  fear  God  are 
unhappy  and  the  heathen  are  prosperous  :  his  remarks  are  as 
follows — "  certe,  si  vere  judicare  velimus,  hac  tam  impia  et 
blasphema  voce  Deum  esse  negant.  Nam  qui  illi  justitiam 
suam  adimit,  is  Deum  a  mundo  tollit,  nee  enim  Deus  est  nisi 
Justus."  The  manner  of  the  Scriptures  is  to  let  doubts  and 
murmurings  have  free  and  full  expression,  and  then  to  van- 
quish them  in  open  conflict  with  the  sword  of  faith.  Scepti- 
cism and  despair  cannot  possibly  bring  forward  anything 
stronger  than  what  we  find  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  And,  iu 
fact,  this  openness  and  candour  in  setting  forth  doubts  is  one 
of  the  best  means  of  overcoming  them.  Knobel  is  of  opinion 
that  this  verse  shows  "  that  Koheleth  did  not  believe  in  im- 
mortality and  in  retribution  after  death  ;  for  had  he  held  such 
a  faith  he  might  easily  have  taught  that  the  recompence  that 
was  not  made  here  would  be  made  on  the  other  side  the 
grave."  He,  however,  who  has  surrendered  this  woild,  has 
ceased  to  attach  much  importance  to  the  world  to  come  :  if 
God's  ways  here  cannot  be  justified,  we  shall  not  be  able 
really  and  livingly  to  beheve  in  a  future  retribution.  The 
author  therefore  takes  exactly  the  right  course,  when  he,  as 
the  representative  of  his  tried  and  tempted  contemporaries, 
fights  and  strives  above  all  things  with  the  scepticism  which 
envelopes  in  darkness  the  ways  of  God  in  the  present  world. 


CHAPTER  IX.  1-10.  211 

Tins  task  accomplished,  the  future  becomes  plain  and  clear  of 
itself  The  words — amidst  all  that  is  done  under  the  sun, 
point  out  that  so  far  from  being  exceptional  it  is  the  usual 
course  of  this  world  that  all  things  should  come  alike  to  all. 
With  the  expression — "  the  heart  of  the  children  of  men  is 
full  of  evil" — compare  chap.  viii.  1 1 ,  according  to  which  by 
the  "  children  of  men,"  we  are  to  understand  those  who  up  to 
that  point  had  striven  after  better  things.  Parallel  also  is 
Psalm  Ixxiii.  10,"  therefore  turns  he,  (namely,  the  wicked,)  his 
people  hither;"  by  his  impunity  from  punishment  and  his  pros- 
perity he  induces  others  to  leave  the  right  way  and  to  come 
over  to  his  manner  of  thinking.  It  is  a  melancholy  consider- 
ation that  external  sufferings  only  too  easily  exert  a  demoral- 
izing influence.  And  folly  is  in  their  heart  : — their  heart  is 
filled  with  foolish  thoughts  about  God's  government  of  the 
world,  and  with  foolish  proposals  to  help  themselves  by  wrong, 
when  God  leaves  them  in  the  lurch.  On  the  word  inns  com- 
pare chap.  vi.  12;  vii.  1 4  :  after  that  he,  namely,  the  righteous, 
has  been  thus  visited  by  evils  which,  though  external,  bring 
alas !  moral  ones  also  in  their  train ;  behind  themselves,  tliat 
is,  after  such  a  mode  of  existence. 

Ve7\  4.  For  ivho  is  jweferred  ?  The  reason  is  given  for 
the  words — "  And  after  that  to  the  dead  :"  for  death  is  the 
lot  of  all  mortals,  and  the  righteous  forms  no  exception  to  the 
rule :  as  Gesenius  renders,  "  quis  enim  qui  electus  sit,  i.  e , 
moriendi  sorte  exemtus."  As  the  vowels  belong  to  the  man 
ginal  reading,  and  as  the  Pual  does  not  elsewhere  occur,  it  is 
better  to  point  as  for  Niphal,  which  is  frequently  employed 
in  the  sense  of  "  chosen  out,  preferred  :"  see,  for  example, 
Jeremiah  viii.  3  The  unnecessary  Masoretic  conjecture  offered 
by  the  marginal  reading  is  most  simply  explained  by  Pam- 
bach  and  others  as  follows,  "  qui  adsocietur,  v.  adsociari  velit 
sub  mortuis."  The  words,  "who  is  excepted  "  (from  this  sad 
lot  ?)  "  are  dictated  by  the  feeling  that  the  lot  of  death  is  a 
sad  one,  and  the  reason  for  such  a  view  is  assigned  by  the 
author  when  he  affirms  that  "in  all  the  living  one  may 
trust."  The  verb  non  is  used  in  conjunction  with  ^x,  to  de- 
signate one  in  whom  confidence  is  placed,  in  Psalm  iv.  6, 
xxxi.  7.  pnD3  is  not  "  hope,"  but  "  confidence,  abandonment," 
see  Isaiah  xxxvi.  4.      Only  the  Hving  are  capable  of  doing 


212  CHAPTER  IX.   1-10. 

anything.  To  be  no  object  of  confidence  is  a  miserable 
condition.  On  the  words  —  "  for  the  living  dog,"  (or 
strictly,  "as  far  as  the  living  dog  is  concerned,  so  is  he") 
"  better  than  the  dead  lion,"  Cartwiight  remarks  —  "  hsec 
vox  pecudis  potius  quam  hominis  dicenda  est."  Tliis  ob- 
servation agrees  with  Psalm  Ixxiii.  22,  where  the  writer 
brings  against  himself  the  charge  of  having  behaved  like  the 
cattle,  when  the  prosperity  of  the  ungodly  exposed  him  to 
temptation.  Nor  indeed  can  it  be  otherwise  :  when  God 
vanishes  from  the  present  world  the  future  is  changed  into 
a  dismal  night  of  death,  by  whose  darkness  all  are  alike 
covered. 

Ver.  5.  The  advantage  of  the  living  over  the  dead  consists 
in  this,  that  the  former  have  consciousness.  This  conscious- 
ness is  here  individualised,  and  one  of  the  forms  in  which  it 
expresses  itself  is  used  to  describe  the  whole.  The  living 
have  consciousness  ;  they  know,  for  example,  that  they  shall 
die,  which  in  comparison  with  utter  unconsciousness  is  un- 
questionably a  good,  however  sad  may  be  the  object  of  know- 
ledge. Such  is  the  language  of  natural  reason,  to  whose  eye 
a-ll  seems  dark  and  gloomy  that  lies  beyond  the  present  scene, 
because  it  fails  in  this  world  to  discern  the  traces  of  divine 
retribvition.  The  Spirit  says  on  the  contrary :  "  the  spirit 
returns  to  God  who  gave  it."  Neither  have  they  any  more  a 
reward  :  that  God  should  recompense  them  is  impossible,  in- 
asmuch as  the  righteous  who  are  dead  have  no  self-conscious 
personality.  To  what  extent  this  is  the  case  is  indicated  by 
the  words — "  for  their  memory  is  forgotten  ;"  so  little  power 
have  they  to  make  good  a  position  for  themselves,  so  entirely 
are  they  deprived  of  all  means  of  expressing  their  life,  so 
completely  have  they  disappeared. 

Ver.  (3.  Alongside  of  the  hatred  which  is  condemned,  there 
is  one  that  is  allowed,  and  not  only  alloived,  but  even  com- 
manded (see  Psalm  xxxi.  7,  and  Revelations  ii.  6).  Hatred 
is  indeed  to  be  condemned,  but  still  his  condition  must  be 
regarded  as  a  degraded  one  who  is  unable  to  hate. 

Ver.  7.  The  voice  of  the  flesh  is  here  oppose;!  by  the  voice 
of  the  spirit.  It  is  exactly  so  elsewhere  ;  as,  for  example,  in 
Psalm  xxxix,  where  the  Psalmist  first  strives  with  God  and 
impatiently  demands  of  Him  to  know  the  end  of  his  life  and 


CHAPTER  IX.   1-10.  213 

sufferings,  but  afterwards  rises  up  and  casts  down  discontent 
and  doubt, to  the  ground.  Here  also  we  might  say  that 
in  verses  1-6  the  author  speaks  as  the  representative  of  the 
then  prevailing  spirit  of  the  people;  not,  however,  as  though  he 
appropriated  views  that  were  utterly  strange  to  his  own 
mind,  but  such  as  he  also  himself  in  his  hours  of  weakness 
had  been  compelled  to  sympathise  with.  Now,  on  the  con- 
trary, the  writer  sets  himself  in  God  to  oppose  the  popular 
views  and  feelings.  Calvin's  remarks  on  Psalm  xlii.  6  hold 
good  of  this  place  also  :  "  David  represents  himself  to  us  as 
divided  into  two  portions.  So  far  as  he  rests  by  faith  in 
God's  promises,  he  rises  in  arms,  with  a  spirit  of  unconquer- 
able valour,  against  the  feelings  and  will  of  the  flesh,  and  con- 
demns at  the  same  time  his  own  weak  and  yielding  conduct." 
Here,  just  as  there,  it  is  the  spirit  which  is  strong  in  God 
that  enters  the  lists  against  the  "  weaker  vessel,"  the  timid 
fearful  soul,  which  in  the  book  of  Job  is  introduced  under  the 
personification  of  Job's  wife.  There  is  undoubtedly  a  refer- 
ence to  individual  men,  but  still  it  is  the  "  man  Judah  "  of 
Isaiah  v.  3,  who  is,  in  the  first  instance,  addressed.  This 
is  evident  from  the  entire  context,  of  which  the  sufferings  of 
the  people  of  God  form  the  point  of  departure.  Eat  thy  bread 
in  joy  and  drink  thy  wine  with  a  good  heart.  "  Joy  and 
good  heart,"  stand  in  opposition  to  the  gloomy  discontent 
which  led  them  formerly  to  say,  "  Every  one  that  doeth 
evil  is  good  in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord,  and  he  delighteth  in 
them,  or  where  is  the  God  of  judgment?"  (Malachi  ii.  17). 
The  contrast  to  eating  bread  and  drinking  wine  is  presented 
in  such  passages  as  1  Samuel  i.  7,  where  it  is  said  of  Han- 
nah, "  she  wept  and  ate  not ;"  Psalm  xlii.  4,  "  My  tears  are 
my  meat  day  and  night ;"  Psalm  Ixxx.  G,  "  Thou  feedest  them 
with  the  bread  of  tears,  and  givest  them  tears  to  drink  in 
gTeat  measure,"  ("  Bread  of  tears,"  signifies  bread  that  con- 
sists of  tears),  and  Psalm  cii.  10,  Job  iii.  24.  God  hath  plea- 
sure in  thy  ivorks,  (nvn  with  the  accusative  means,  "  to  have 
pleasvire  in  anything,")  and,  therefore,  in  His  good  time  thou 
wilt  see  the  reward  which  thou  now  missest,  and  "  ye  shall 
discern  again  the  difference  between  the  righteous  and  the 
wicked,  between  him  that  serveth  God  and  him  that  serveth 
him  not,"  (Malachi  iii.  1 8).     We  have  in  this  verse  the  dis- 


214  CHAPTER  IX.   1-10. 

tinct  negation  of  verse  1.  There,  by  a  hasty  conclusion 
drawn  from  the  fact  of  the  temporal  sufferings  of  the  righte- 
ous, it  was  affirmed  that  man  does  not  at  all  know  whether 
he  has  grace  before  God  or  not,  whether  he  may  or  may  not 
expect  love  from  God.  The  great  sting  of  temporal  suffering 
is,  that  we  very  easily  get  to  fancy  that  it  will  last  for  ever, 
and  that  it  is  apt  to  lead  us  into  erroneous  thoughts  about 
God's  grace.  We  can  only  overcome  this  temptation  b}'- 
rising  in  faith  above  the  present.  In  Psalm  Ixxiii.  1  7,  "  till 
I  come  to  the  sanctuaries  of  God,  then  will  I  look  on  their 
end."  The  thing  first  mentioned  stands  to  the  second 
in  the  relation  of  cause  to  effect.  Having  entered  into  the 
sanctuary  of  God,  the  Psalmist  sees  that  the  prosperity  of  the 
wicked  and  the  sufferings  of  the  righteous  are  only  transi- 
tory, and  thus  he  attains  to  an  unbounded  confidence  in 
God's  help  and  redemption.  A  real,  if  not  a  verbal,  parallel 
to  the  T^ords,  "  God  has  pleasure  in  thy  works,"  may  be  found 
in  the  commencement  of  Psalm  Ixxiii:  "  only  good  is  God  to 
Israel,  to  those  who  are  of  a  pure  heart."  God  is  good,  and 
not  evil  as  the  righteous  may  well  fancy  when  they  are 
plagued  continually,  when  they  are  chastened  every  morning, 
whilst  the  wicked  live  in  prosperity.  Luther  remarks  on  the 
verse,  "  He  means  to  say  something  like  this — thou  livest  in 
the  world  where  there  is  nothing  without  that,  for  there  is 
much  sorrow,  heart  suffering,  misery,  there  is  death  and  much 
vanity  :  make  use  then  of  life  with  love,  and  do  not  make 
thine  own  life  sour  and  hard  with  anxious  and  fruitless 
cares.  Solomon  says  what  he  says  not  to  the  secure  and 
godless  children  of  the  world,  but  to  such  as  truly  fear  God 
and  believe.  These  he  comforts,  and  would  fain  see  them 
comfort  themselves  and  rejoice  in  God.  To  them  he  gives  the 
exhortation,  to  be  glad ;  he  does  not  bid  those  to  drink  wine 
and  eat,  etc.,  who  were  beforehand  too  secure,  and  being  god- 
less and  lost,  spent  their  lives  in  indolence  and  debauchery." 

Ver.  8.  Let  thy  garments  be  ahvays  white.  White  is  in 
Scripture  the  colour  of  serene  splendour  symbolically  shadow- 
ing forth  glory:  (compare  my  Commentary  on  Revelations 
iv.  4.)  The  Angel  of  Mark  xvi.  5  appears  in  white  clothes, 
as  a  sign  that  the  rank  of  the  angels  is  the  same  as  that  of 
the  "saints,"  who  are  the  glorious.     The  clothes  of  Christ  be- 


CHAPTER  IX.  1-10.  215 

came  white  in  His  transfiguration,  (Matthew  xvii.  2,  Mark 
ix.  8,  Luke  ix.  29.)  White  clothes  are  borne  by  the  glorified 
in  Revelations  iii.  4,  5,  vii.  9,  as  a  symbol  of  glory.  In  this 
place  white  clothes  were  to  be  put  on  to  express  the  confident 
hope  of  the  future  glory  of  the  peoide  of  God.  Spener,  in 
testimony  of  his  hope  of  a  better  future  for  the  Church, 
caused  himself  to  be  buried  in  a  white  cofiin.  The  adoption 
of  white  clothes  signifies  here  the  anticipation  of  the  future 
victory  of  the  people  of  God.  Analogpus  is  Revelations  vi.  1 1, 
where  in  answer  to  their  prayer,  which  could  not  yet  be  per- 
fectly fulfilled,  each  of  the  slaughtered  receives  provisionally 
a  white  garment.  Tliere  also  the  white  garment  has  an 
anticipatory  significance.  Hand  in  hand  with  the  white 
garment  goes  the  oil  on  the  head.  This  oil  is  the  "oil  of  joy" 
mentioned  in  Psalm  xlv.  8,  and  in  Isaiah  Ixi.  3.  In  joyful 
circumstances,  on  festive  occasions  men  were  accustomed  to 
anoint  themselves:  such  oil  was  an  embodiment  of  festive  joy, 
on  which  account  the  oil  of  gladness  is  opposed  to  sadness  in 
Isaiah  Ixi.  3.  The  true  members  of  the  people  of  God  ought 
always  to  be  in  a  festive,  joyous  mood,  inasmuch  as  they  rise 
by  faith  above  the  gloomy  present  to  the  glorious  future 
awaiting  them. 

Ver.  9.  Look  upon  life,  which  is  as  much  as  to  say,  be 
happjr,  in  that  thou  turnest  away  thine  eye  from  the  sad 
present  and  fixest  it  on  the  glorious  future,  and  in  that  thou 
enjoy  est  those  little  pleasures  which  God  offers  thee  in  the 
midst  of  this  vain  existence,  and  which  thou  niayest  not  sour 
and  embitter  by  cares  and  vexatious  questions.  The  woman 
appears  here  not  as  the  source,  but  as  the  companion  of  joy; 
and  the  words,  "with  the  woman  whom  thou  lovest,"  may  to 
a  certain  extent  be  regarded  as  a  parenthesis,  nji'x  before  |n3 
refers  to  the  days  of  life,  (chap.  vi.  17.)  The  connection  is 
the  following,  "look  upon  life  ...  all  the  days  of  thy 
vain  life,  which  He  giveth  thee  under  the  sun,  all  the  days  of 
thy  vain  life."  By  the  repetition  of  the  last  words  we  are 
expressly  taught  that,  in  the  midst  of  the  vanity  and  travail 
with  which  human  existence  is  burdened  (Genesis  iii.),  we  are 
pressingly  summoned  not  to  seal  up  the  sources  of  enjoyment 
which  still  remain  open  to  us.  t^in,  "this,"  namely,  to  see 
life,  to  be  pleased. 


216  CHAPTEE  IX.   1-10. 

Ver.  10.  Despair  carries  with  it  the  danger  of  a  sluggisli 
inactivity.  Against  this,  men  are  here  warned.  Luther 
remarks,  "an  admonition  to  the  lazy.  For  when  they  see 
that  so  much  pains  and  toil  are  lost,  they  are  minded  to  do 
nothing  but  to  let  everything  stand  quite  still."  As  to  sub- 
stance, Hebrews  xii.  12  presents  a  parallel,  where  to  the 
severely  tried  and  tempted  it  is  said,  dih  rag  '7rapsi,u.img  %f//5ag 
zai  TO,  TapuXiXufisva  yovara  avopduiffars.  "Sluggish  hands"  are 
ascribed  to  the  suffering  even  in  Job  iv.  3,  and  Isaiah  xxxv. 
3.  The  saying,  "my  hand  finds  something,"  signifies,  "I  am 
capable  of  something,"  "I  am  in  a  position  for  something,"  "I 
have  opportunity  for  something:"  (compare  Judges  ix.  33, 
1  Samuel  x.  7,  xxv.  8.)  According  to  the  accents,  and  the 
sense,  inan  belongs  not  to  riB'y,  but  to  what  goes  before.  The 
duty  of  doing  all  that  it  is  in  any  way  possible  to  do  is  based,  in 
the  second  part  of  the  verse,  on  the  consideration  that  what 
is  here  left  undone  never  is  done,  that  the  tasks  appointed  by 
God  for  this  life  which  are  here  unaccomplished  remain  vm- 
accomplished,  and  that  the  gifts  and  powers  lent  for  this  life 
should  be  used  in  this  life.  For  there  is  no  ivork,  nor  device, 
nor  knowledge,  nor  wisilom,  in  the  hell  whither  thou  goest : — 
it  is  not  so  in  the  intermediate  kingdom,  nor  is  it  so  in  the 
kingdom  of  glory,  (1  Corinthians  xiii.  8).  There  are  forms  of 
knowledge  and  work  which  belong  only  to  the  present  life, 
and  he  who  does  not  empioy  them,  has  buried  his  talent  in 
the  earth,  and  thus  committed  a  heavy  sin,-^a  sin,  the  con- 
sequences of  which  will  stretch  into  eternity.  Even  Jerome 
compares  the  saying  of  our  Lord  in  John  ix.  4,  sfih  di7 
spyd^isdat  rd  ipya  rov  -Tri/jj-^avTog  //,£  sag  7]fj,spa  sfftlv  ipyjrai  vu^, 
oTs  oudsig  dumrai  lpydti6^a.i.  That  there  is  a  reference  to  the 
verse  now  under  notice,  can  scarcely  be  called  in  question. 
It  begins  at  once  with  the  words  "for  no  work"  Even 
Liicke,  although  this  passage  was  not  in  his  mind,  felt  that 
the  Lord  made  partial  use  of  an  already  existing  expression. 
"Day  and  night  mark  the  fixed  and  bounded  time  of  the 
earthly  career  of  the  earthly  activity  of  our  Lord."  Feeling 
that  death  shortly  awaited  Him,  Christ  says,  "there  comes 
for  me  the  night,  when,  as  it  is  said,  no  man  can  work." 
What  Jesus  spake,  alluding  to  the  present  verse,  holds  good 
for  all  believers. 


CHAPTER  IX.  11,   12.  217 


VERSES  11,  12. 


WTien  the  position  of  the  people  of  God  is  a  sad  one,  whilst 
on  the  contrary,  the  world  triumphs,  what  we  should  do  is  to 
bear  in  mind  that  the  destinies  of  men  are  decided  in  heaven, 
that  their  fortunes  are  not  determined  according  to  might,  or 
according  to  weakness,  and  that  a  sudden  catastrophe  often 
lays  low  that  which  was  highly  exalted  To  have  God  as  our 
friend  is  the  main  thing;  all  depends  at  last  on  that;  and  that 
alone  decides. 

Ver.  11.  I  returned  and  saiu  under  the  sun  that  the  race 
is  not  to  the  swift,  nor  the  battle  to  the  heroes,  neither  yet 
bread  to  the  wise,  nor  yet  riches  to  men  of  understanding, 
nor  yet  favour  to  men  of  skill :  but  time  and  chance  happen- 
eth  to  them  all.  Ver.  12.  For  man  also  knoweth  not  his 
time,  as  the  fishes  that  are  fallen  in  an  evil  net,  and  as  the 
birds  that  are  caught  in  a  snare:  like  them  are  the  children 
of  men  snared  at  the  time  of  misfortune,  when  it  falleth  sud- 
denly upon  therti. 

Ver.  11.  The  words,  I  returned  and  saiu  under  the  sun, 
indicate  that  the  writer  takes  up  again  the  consideration  of 
sublunary  things,  which  had  been  interrupted,  and  turns  his 
attention  to  a  new  subject.  Compare  iv.  1,  7.  In  the  two 
passages  just  quoted  nxnsi  is  used ;  here  we  find  the  Infini- 
tive, which  is  more  accurately  defined  by  the  verb,  finit.  which 
precedes.  After  the  words,  imder  the  sun,  we  must  mentally 
add,  "  and  indeed  I  saw."  The  point  of  departure  here,  also, 
is  the  tribulation  of  the  people  of  God,  but  considered  from  a 
new  point  of  view.  The  race  is  not  to  the  siuift,  for  they 
may  be  hindered  by  something  or  other, — sometimes  even  by 
the  very  slightest  obstacle,  so  that  the  less  swift  shall  arrive 
sooner  than  they.  Nor  the  battle  to  the  heroes.  This  same 
view,  which  Rationalism  looks  upon  as  "  fatalistic,"  (Knobel) 
David  gave  utterance  to  in  the  presence  of  Goliath,  himself 
furnishino-  a  livincr  illustration  of  the  affirmation  of  the  text. 
See  1  Samuel  xvii.  47,  "the  battle  is  the  Lord's,  and  he  gives 
you  into  our  hands:"  fui-ther  also,  Psalm  xxxii.  16,  17,  "the 
Iving  is  not  saved  by  his  great  hosts,  a  hero  is  not  delivered 


218  CHAPTER  IX.   11,   12. 

by  much  strength.  A  horse  is  a  vain  thing  for  safety, 
neither  doth  he  deliver  by  his  great  strength."  Jahaziel 
the  Prophet  says  in  2  Chronicles  xx.  15,  "Be  not  afraid  nor 
dismayed  by  reason  of  this  great  multitude,  for  the  battle  is 
not  yours  but  God's."  The  point  of  view  in  these  passages, 
(compare  besides  Jeremiah  xlvi.  6,  where  speaking  against 
Egypt  the  Prophet  says — "  the  swift  will  not  escape,  nor  the 
hero  be  delivered:"  Proverbs  xxi.  80,  31),  as  well  as  in  the 
one  we  are  now  illustrating  is  that  of  consolation:  if  it  de- 
pended on  human  strength  the  people  of  God  must  succumb. 
"Favour"  means  much  the  same  as  "preference,  popularity." 
In  connection  with  the  words,  for  time  and  chance  luq^peneth 
to  them  all,  whose  import  is,  "  they  all  are  subject  to  the  in- 
fluence of  time  and  chance,"  compare  Psalm  xxxi.  16,  "my 
times  are  in  thy  hand,  deliver  me  from  the  hand  of  mine 
enemies,  and  from  my  persecutors."  That  the  fates  of  the 
Psalmist,  as  indeed  of  all  men,  are  in  God's  hand,  is  repre- 
sented there  as  the  ground  of  their  hope  of  deliverance,  as  the 
light  in  the  dark  night  of  adversity.  Chance  here  is  not  to 
to  be  regarded  as  a  power  alongside  of  and  opposed  to  God : 
chance  is  that  which  happens  to  man  withc)ut  his  co-operation, 
and  the  idea  of  the  verse  is  that  of  Romans  ix.  16 — apa, 
GUI'  ou  rou  dsXovTog,  ovBi  tou  rp's^ovTog,  dXXa  rou  iXsouvrog  0£o-j*  If 
everything  depends  on  time  and  chance,  we  ought  not  to  de- 
spair in  view  of  the  seeming  omnipotence  of  the  world,  sup- 
posing God  to  be  our  friend.  For  to  the  friends  of  God 
belongs  the  future.  All  things  human,  let  them  be  as  proud 
and  splendid  as  they  may,  let  them  boast  and  be  puffed  up 
as  they  may,  are  but  loose  chaff,  which  the  wind  of  divine 
judgments  will  sweep  away. 

Ver.  12.  The  general  assertion,  that  everything  mighty 
and  distinguished  is  subject  to  chance,  is  gTounded  on  the 
particular  fact  which  is  here  brought  specially  under  notice, 
*the  fact,  namely,  that  no  man  is  able  to  escape  a  catastrophe 
coming  over  him.  In  the  backgTOund  stands  the  thought — • 
the  Persian  also  in  his  time  will  fall  under  such  a  catastro- 
phe, and  in  fact  the  powers  of  this  tvorld  generally  :  their 
apparent  omnipotence  will  not  deliver  them.  When  Alex- 
ander came,  the  seal  of  divine  confirmation  was  set  to  this 
declaration.    According  to   the  context,  the    "  time "  of  man 


CHAPTER  IX.  13-18.  219 

must  mean  here,  the  time  of  his  downM  :  elsewhere  "day"  is 
used  in  the  same  sense  (Job  xviii.  20).  Man's  ignorance 
of  his  time  is  brought  here  under  consideration  so  far  as  it  is 
determined  by  a  power  standing  absohitely  above  him.  Trap 
or  snare  is  quite  a  common  image  of  the  divine  judgments  : 
Net  is  used  for  this  purpose  in  Hosea  vii.  12,  "I  will  spread 
out  my  net  over  them  ;"  in  Ezekiel  xii.  1 3,  "  and  I  spread  out 
my  net  over  him,  and  he  is  taken  in  my  snare ;"  Ezekiel  xxxii. 
3,  "  and  I  spread  over  thee  (Pharoah)  my  net  in  the  assembly 
of  many  peoples,  and  they  draw  thee  up  with  my  snare." 
With  regard  to  tj'pv  the  part.  Pual  compare  Ewald,  §  169  d. 


VERSES  13-18.     * 

In  the  midst  of  all  their  misery  one  high  prerogative  has 
remained  to  the  people  of  God,  to'  wit,  wisdom,  which  is 
a  nobler  possession  than  the  streng-th  in  which  the  world 
temporarily  rejoices.  That  this  wisdom  is  despised  because  it 
is  in  the  form  of  a  servant,  detracts  nothing  at  all  from  its  wortli. 
"Were  its  voice  only  heard  it  would  exert  a  wholesome  and 
preservative  influence  even  on  the  heathen  world  ;  it  would 
become  a  salt  to  it  ;  whereas  now  the  heathen  states  being 
under  the  rule  and  direction  of  folly  huriy  unrestrainably  to 
ruin.  In  the  background,  however,  stands  the  conviction  that 
the  nation  which  possesses  wisdom  must  of  necessity  in  due 
season  rise  again  to  supremacy.  In  A^erses  13-15  a  parable  is 
set  before  us  :  in  ver.  1 6  we  have  its  interpretation.  In  verses 
17-18  the  thought  is  carried  out  into  further  detail. 

Ver.  1 3.  This  also  saw  I  as  wisdom  under  the  sun,  and  it 
seemed  great  unto  me  :  Ver.  14.  J.  little  city  and  feiu  men 
within  it,  and  there  came  a  great  king  against  it  and  he- 
sieged  it,  and  built  great  bulwarks  against  it.  Ver.  15.  And 
he  found  therein  a  poor  wise  man,  and  he  by  his  wisdom 
delivered  the  city,  yet  no  man  thought  of  this  same  poor 
man.  Ver.  16.  And  I  said.  Wisdom  is  better  than  strength, 
nevertheless  the  wisdom  of  the  poor  man  is  despised  and  his 
words  are  not  hectrd.  Ver.  1 7.  The  words  of  the  xvise  heard 
in  quiet  are  better  than  the  cry  of  him  that  ruleth  among 


2lO  chapter  IX.  13-18. 

fools.  Ver.  18.  Better  is  wisdom  than  weapons  of  war; 
and  one  sinner  destroyeth  much  good. 

Ver.  13.  Even  Luther  and  Mercerus  saw  that  in  verses 
13-15  a  parable  is  presented  to  us,  and  not  an  historical  oc- 
currence. The  poor  man  with  his  delivering  wisdom  is  an 
image  of  Israel.  The  words,  "  this  also  saw  I,"  as  well  as 
those  just  noticed,  "  I  returned  and  saw  ;"  (ver.  1 1)  introduce  a 
new  subject  of  consideration.  It  is  not  allowable  to  explain 
the  words,  "  this  also,"  as  if  they  signified,  "  along  with  other 
evidences  of  wisdom  which  occur  in  the  world,"  for  no  allu- 
sion has  been  previously  made  to  such  exhibitions  of  wisdom. 
Nor  may  we  adopt  the  rendering — "  this  also  saw  I,  (namely) 
wisdom  under  the  sun  ;"  for  the  closing  words  describe  the 
sphere  of  vision  generally.  The  best  explanation  is  rather  the 
one  given  in  the  text,  namely,  "this  also  saw  I  as  wisdom." 
n03n  thus  defines  more  closely  the  quality  of  that  which,  along 
with  other  things,  he  saw  ;  and  the  meaning  would  be,  "  this 
also  saw  I  under  the  sun, — a  wisdom  which  seemed  to  me 
great."  Luther  remarks,  "  he  calls  it  here  a  great  wisdom,  for 
it  is  in  truth  a  great  wisdom,  to  deliver  a  little  and  poor  city 
possessed  of  few  resources  from  great  and  powerful  enemies." 

Ver.  14.  "I'l^O  from  IIV  signifies  in  chap.  vii.  26,  (mi^O  in 
chap.  ix.  1 2,)  "  the  implement  of  hunting,  of  snaring,  the 
net ;"  here  it  is  used  of  "  siege- works." 

Ver.  1  5.  The  subject  of  NVQ  is,  the  Great  King :  Rambach 
remarks,   "  contra  omnem  opinionem  expertus  est." 

Ver.  16.  This  verse  contains  the  practical  application  of 
the  parable.  On  the  words,  And  his  words  are  not  heard, 
Hitzig  remarks,  "  In  this  particular  case  they  had,  it  is  true, 
not  despised  his  wisdom,  and  they  had  listened  to  his  words. 
But  it  was  an  exceptional  case,  necessity  drove  them  thereto, 
and  afterwards  they  forgot  him."  Cartwright  says,  "  viri 
humilis  conditionis  sapientia,  tametsi  splendeat  maxime,  tamen 
pauperi..te  tanquam  nube  interjecta  ita  obfuscatur,  ut  levi 
temporis  momento  omnium  oculos  a  se  aversos  habens  mem- 
oria  excidat." 

Ver.  17.  Attention  is  called,  on  the  very  face,  to  the  close 
connection  between  this  verse  and  the  last,  by  the  catchword 
D''J?»t:'j.  The  author's  great  aim  throughout  this  whole  con- 
nection being  to  console,  he  could  not  possibly  rest  satisfied 


CHAPTER  IX.   1  3-1  8,  221 

with  the  Httle  consolatory  matter  advanced  in  ver.  1 6.  More- 
over, the  close  connection  referred  to  is  required  by  the  paral- 
lel passages,  which  allude  to  wisdom  as  the  jewel  still  remain- 
ing to  the  people  of  God,  and  as  the  pledge  of  a  joyful  ter- 
mination of  their  present  experiences.  Heard  in  quiet  : — that 
is  the  condition  of  their  wholesome  influence.  Israel  would 
have  proved  a  salt  to  the  heathen  world  if  ear  had  only  been 
given  to  the  voice  of  wisdom  dwelling  in  his  midst.  Hitzig 
remarks  justly,  that  "the  quiet  hearing  of  words,  promises  their 
fulfilment,  a  thing  which  is  here  implied."  In  opposition  to  the 
passive  state  of  quietly  listening  to  the  words  of  wisdom  is  set 
the  activity  developed  in  our  own  crying.  He  that  ruletli 
among  fools,  namely,  the  world-monarch,  is  himself  to  be  con- 
ceived as  a  fool.  This  is  shown  by  his  conduct  in  vehemently 
crying  instead  of  calmly  listening.  Compare  Isaiah  xlii.  2, 
where  it  is  said  of  the  servant  of  God,  "  he  shall  not  cry,  nor 
call,  nor  cause  his  voice  to  be  heard  in  the  streets,"  in  contrast 
to  the  clamorous  and  passionate  conduct  of  a  worldly  con- 
queror, who  thinks  of  nothing  but  carrying  through  his  own 
win,  and  who  blusters  and  rages  when  he  meets  with  opposi- 
tion. 

Ver.  18.  That  tvisdom  is  better  than  vjeapons  of  ivar, 
would  show  itself  in  the  example  of  the  powers  of  the  world, 
if  they  only  lent  an  ear  to  its  voice,  and  it  wiU  one  day  be 
proved  in  the  experience  of  the  nation  whose  privilege  it  is  to 
possess  wisdom,  in  that  day  when,  notwithstanding  its  defence- 
less impotence,  it  is  raised  to  universal  dominion.  One  sinner, 
for  example,  the  heathen  world-monarch,  destroyeth  much 
good ;  n^iD  is  not  good  in  the  moral  sense,  but  "  possession, 
property,  prosperity,"  as  in  chap.  v.  10-17  ;  vi.  6.  The  truth 
of  this  assertion  was  first  made  clear  in  the  wretched  decline 
and  sudden  downfal  of  the  Persian  Empire. 


CHAPTER  X.   1-3. 

Resuming  the  subject  touched  upon  in  the  second  half  of 
chap.  ix.  19,  the  writer  cheers  the  people  of  God,  gi-oaning 
under  the  tyranny  of  the  world,  by  directing  attention  to  the 
fact  that  their  enemies,  (in  the  fii'st   instance  the   Persians,) 


222  CHAPTER  X.  1-3. 

were  given  up  to  folly  and  its  destructive  influences.  Wliere 
folly  rules,  destruction  cannot  be  far  off,  as  it  is  said,  "  thou 
didst  hide  their  heart  from  understanding,  therefore  shalt  thou 
not  suffer  them  to  remain  exalted,"  (Job  xvii.  4.) 

Ver.  1.  Dead  flies  cause  through  ijutrefaction,  the  cil  of  the 
perfumer  to  stink  :  the  glorious  in  ivisdora  and  honour,  a  little 
folly.  Ver.  2.  A  wise  mans  heart  is  at  his  right  hand  and 
a  fool's  heart  is  at  his  left.  Ver.  3.  Yea  also  in  the  way  ivhich 
he  goes  is  his  heart  lacking,  and  he  saith  of  every  one,  he  is 
foolish. 

Ver.  1.  Not  without  significance  is  it  said,  "  Flies  of  death," 
and  not  "  dead  flies,"  although  these  are  meant.  The  effect 
described  is  not  produced  by  flies  as  such  ;  but  is  so  entirely 
connected  with  death,  that  instead  of  flies  any  other  dead 
thing  might  have  been  mentioned.  "  Dead  flies,"  are  only 
specified  because  they  find  their  way  first  of  all  to  the  salve 
pot,  and  because  the  author  wished  to  addvice  some  small 
thing.  Physical  death  is  the  more  prominently  referred  to  as 
its  correspondent,  in  spiiitual  things,  is  folly.  The  employ- 
ment of  the  singular  of  the  verb  C'^sn^  calls  special  attention 
to  it.  When  special  emphasis  is  meant  to  be  laid  on  the 
second  word  in  the  stat.  constr.,  the  verb  is  accommodated 
to  it.  That  the  singular  depends  on  mo  was  recognised  even 
by  Symmachus,  /j^viuv  Mvarog  er^^n  'iXaiov  svuiBsg  [ivpz-^oZ.  The 
oil  of  the  perfumer  is  mentioned  as  being  a  costly,  noble  sub- 
stance, yia''  is  added  subsidiarily,  for  the  purpose  of  indicating 
more  distinctly  the  cause  :  "  in  that  they  cause  to  putrify," 
in  consequence  of  the  process  of  putrification  which  they  com- 
mence. But  that  it  serves  only  a  subsidiary  purpose  is  evi- 
dent, because  ^>^y^  does  not  suit  any  but  the  second  clause. 
"To  make  to  stink,"  is  used  elsewhere  for  "to  make  con- 
temptible" in  Genesis  xxxiv.  30,  (compare  Exodus  v.  21,)  and 
in  this  sense  it  is  to  be  repeated  in  the  second  clause,  np^ 
signifies  originally  "  dear,  costly,"  and  then  "  excellent,"  glor- 
ious, noble."  Compare  Jeremiah  xv.  19,  where  idi  "excel- 
lent" is  opposed  to  ^^if  "  contemptible  ;"  and  Lamentations  iv, 
2,  "  the  sons  of  Zion,  the  glorious,"  (Psalm  xlv.  1 0  ;  Proverbs 
iii.  15  ;  vi.  2G.)  |o  is  used  here  causatively.  At  its  com- 
mencement under  Cyrus,  the  Persian  kingdom  was  glorious  in 
wisdom  and  honour  :  its  praises  were  sounded  not  only  by  the 


CHAPTER  X.  1-3.  223 

profane,  but  also  by  the  sacred  writers.  Geier  remarks  with 
regard  to  the  two  terms  "  wisdom  and  honour,"  "  duo  hsec 
vocabula  duplicempretii  causam  indicant,  sapientiauiethonerem, 
i.  e.,  partim  internani  culturam  partim  externam  hominum 
existimationem  opes  aut  felicitatem  gloriosam."  A  little  folly  : 
that  is,  folly  which  is  little  in  proportion  to  the  entire  system 
and  edifice  of  which  it  proves  the  ruin.  Corresponding  to  the 
active  cause  here,  namely,  "  the  little  folly,"  stands  that  which 
is  acted  upon,  namely,  "the  much  good"  in  chap.  ix.  18.  In 
the  New  Testament  also  the  leaven  is  called  little,  not  in  rela- 
tion to  a  greater  quantity  thereof,  but  to  the  whole  mass  (oAoy 
pipa/xa  :)  see  the  parallel  passages  1  Cor.  v.  6  ;  Galatians  v.  9 
Folly,  sin,  is  so  little  and  insignificant  that  on  a  supei-ficial 
consideration  it  is  scarcely  noticed,  or  at  all  events,  is  looked 
upon  only  as  a  bagatelle,  a  peccadillo. 

Yer.  2.  The  right  hand  being  "the  principal  one,  the  dearest, 
the  strongest  hand,  with  which  we  chiefly  grasp,  work,  wield 
our  weapons,  and  so  forth,"  we  say  of  that  which  is  as  it 
ought  to  be,  that  it  is  at  the  right,  whilst  of  things  that  are 
no  longer  in  their  normal  state,  we  say  that  they  are  at  the 
left.  A  comparison  has  rightly  been  instituted  between 
this  expression  and  our  saying,  "his  heart  is  in  the  right 
place."  Attention  is  drawn  to  the  heart  here,  so  far  as  in  it 
are  the  roots  of  the  understanding,  which  is  always  deter- 
mined and  guided  by  inclination. 

Ver.  3.  On  the  way  which  he  goes,  in  his  actions.  When 
the  heart  has  taken  a  perverse  turn,  the  hands  are  unable  to 
lay  hold  of  anything  rightly.  He  saith  of  every  one,  he  is 
foolish.  By  a  strange  confusion  of  places,  he  speaks  thus 
especially  of  those  on  whom  God  has  bestowed  the  gift  and 
privilege  of  wisdom.  Hitzig  says,  "Himself  he  dare  not  hold 
for  a  fool:  for  therein  would  lie  some  truth,  and  a  begixming 
of  understanding:  would  have  been  made." 


CHAPTER  X.  4. 

In  the  difficult  circumstances  in  which  they  are  placed,  the 
people  of  God  should  be  on  their  guard  against  irritahility, 
which  would  inevitably  tend  to  increase  their  sufferings:  and 


224<  CHAPTER  X.   4. 

further,  they  should  carefully  guard  that  precious  treasure  of 
calmness  of  soul  which  is  his  portion  who  sees  the  hand  of 
God  in  everything,  even  in  that  which  is  hardest  to  bear,  and 
resigns  himself  patiently  and  humbly  to  the  Divine  Avill. 

Ver.  4.  If  the  s]jirit  of  the  ruler  rise  up  against  thee,  leave 
not  thy  place,  for  yielding  pacifieth  great  offence. 

The  spirit  of  the  ruler,  to  wit,  of  the  foolish  one,  (chap.  ix. 
17,  X.  1-3,)  of  the  sinner,  (chap.  ix.  18.)  Hitzig  remarks, 
"the  ruler  here  is  one  who,  when  angered,  is  capable  of  com- 
mitting great  offences"  against  thee.  The  author  addresses  the 
covenant  people,  against  whom  the  minds  of  the  heathen 
rulers  were  greatly  irritated,  because  they  had  got  wind  of 
the  pretensions  made  by  them  to  the  privilege  of  wisdom,  and 
to  the  future  possession  of  the  throne  of  the  world.  What 
the  p)lace  is  for  the  people  of  God,  is  plain  from  the  yielding, 
from  the  retiring  gentleness,  mentioned  in  the  second  clause, 
which  is  exclusively  found  amongst  those  who  commit  their 
cause  to  God.  Through  it  Jacob  overcame  Esau,  and  David 
Saul,  (1  Samuel  xxvi.)  The  contrast  to  xdid  is  in  Proverbs 
xiv.  80,  r\\ii.^\>  "anger,  passion."  Great  sins,  into  which  a  pas- 
sionate tyrant  inevitably  falls,  when  he  meets  with  resistance. 
To  rage  against  the  people  of  God  is  a  great  sin.  Cartwright 
says,  "hsec  igitur  animi  submissio  et  patientia  turbulentissimas 
perturbationum  et  animi  motuum  tempestates  serenat 
tumidissimos  et  maxime  inflatos  affectuum  fluctus  tranquillat, 
et  ex  leone  agnum  reddit.  Quamobrem  connitendum,  ut  hac 
virtute  imbuamur,  qua  cum  deo,  turn  hominibus  placeamus, 
etiam  his,  qui  a  pietate  et  humanitate  procul  remoti  sunt." 


CHAPTER  X.   5-10. 

Tlie  humiliation  of  the  people  of  God,  and  the  triumph  of  the 
world,  is  a  heavy  stone  of  stumbling.  But  in  His  own  good 
time  God  will  remove  this  offence  out  of  the  way :  those  who 
have  used  violence  will  meet  with  recompence:  and  it  is  the 
less  possible  that  they  should  escape  ruin  as  they  are  utterly 
destitute  of  the  corrective  and  preservative  element  of  wisdom. 

Ver.  5.  There  is  an  evil  luhich  I  saiv  under  the  sun,  as  an 
error  wldch  proceedeth  from  the' ruler  :    Ver.  6.  Folly  ivas  set 


CHAPTER  X.  5-10.  225 

on  great  heights,  and  the  rich  sit  in  low  place.  Ver.  7.  / 
saw  servants  on  horses  and  princes  walking  on  foot  as  ser- 
vants. Ver.  8.  He  that  diggeth  a  pit  shall  fall  into  it  :  and 
whoso  hreaketh  through  a  wall,  a  serj^ent  shall  bite  him. 
Ver.  9.  Whoso  looseneth  stones  shall  be  hurt  therewith,  and  he 
that  cleaveth  wood  shall  be  injured  thereby.  Ver.  1 0.  //  the 
iron  has  become  blunt,  and  he  has  not  whetted  the  edge,  he 
must  put  to  more  strength,  and  roisdom  has  the  advantage  of 
amendment. 

Ver.  5.  The  Ruler,  absolutely  is  the  heavenly  one,  even 
as  in  chap.  v.  8,  and  chap.  viii.  2,  4,  the  king  is  the  heavenly 
king.  Of  the  heavenly  ruler,  D''^tr  is  used  in  Daniel  iv.  23,  v. 
21,  also.  The  correct  view  is  given  by  Jerome  as  communi- 
cated to  him  by  the  Jew  of  whose  assistance  h^  availed  him- 
self, "Hebroeus  potentem  et  principem  a  cujus  facie,  ignoratio 
videatur  egredi,  Deum  exposuit,  quod  putent  homines  in  hac 
insequalitate  rerum  ilium  non  juste  et  ut  sequum  est  judicare." 
The  n  before  nii^  is  of  great  importance.  It  is  not  really 
an  "error,"  it  only  has  the  seeming  of  one;  it  bears  this 
appearance  only  to  those  superficial  minds  whose  eyes  are 
fastened  on  the  present,  and  which  are  unable  to  survey  the 
whole  and  take  the  end  into  view. 

Ver.  6.  This  verse  sets  before  us  "the  evil,"  the  apparent 
"fault"  in  providence.  The  matter  treated  of  is  the  downfall 
of  the  people  of  God.  According  to  what  precedes,  the  "folly" 
spoken  of  must  be  that  of  the  heathens,  especially  that  of  the 
Persians.  By  the  "rich"  we  cannot  understand  such  as  are 
now  actually  so,  for  then  they  would  not  be  sitting  in  a  low 
place,  but  such  as  by  right  should  be  so.  According  to  the 
divine  destination,  Israel  was  a  rich  people.  To  him  the 
promise  had  been  given,  "there  shall  be  no  poor  among  you — 
(jVas  forms  a  strict  contrast  to  the  word  tik^j/  employed  here) 
— ^for  the  Lord  will  bless  thee,"  (Deuteronomy  xv.  4 :)  and 
further,  "thou  shalt  lend  unto  many  nations,  and  shalt  borrow 
from  no  one;  thou  shalt  reign  over  many  nations,  but  they 
shall  not  reign  over  thee,"  (Deuteronomy  xv.  6,  xxviii.  11.) 
The  prosperity  meant  for  the  Israelites  was  prefigured  in  the 
opulence  which,  through  the  divine  blessing,  was  enjoyed  by 
their  forefathers,  who  walked  in  God's  ways:  compare  Genesis 
xiii.  2.  "And  Abraham  was  very  rich  in  cattle,  in  silver,  and 
P 


226  CHAPTER  X   5-10. 

gold."  It  is  true  that  the  promise  given  in  the  law  rested  on 
the  expressly  specified  condition  of  faithfulness  in  fulfilling 
the  divine  commands ;  and  failure  therein  must  of  course  lead  to 
suspension  of  the  promise.  But  still  the  promise  might  not 
be  for  ever  revoked;  and  because  this  seemed  to  be  the  case, 
it  looked  as  if  there  were  a  fault  in  the  divine  government. 
This  appearance  is  done  away  with  by  what  follows.  In 
connection  with  ^D'k^n  compare  verse  23  of  Psalm  cxxxvi. 
which  was  written  during  the  dominion  of  the  Persians,  "who 
remembered  us  in  our  low  estate,  UPDirn."  ?S^'  is  only  used 
in  these  two  passages. 

Ver.  7.  A  world  turned  upside  down  :  Servants  ride  and 
masters  wallc.  Servants, — such,  by  right  and  l^y  God's 
appointment,  were  the  heathen  ;  for  Israel  was  called  to  uni- 
versal dominion  :  him  were  the  nations  meant  to  obey, 
(Genesis  xlix.  10.)  The  Jews  were  a  kingdom  of  priests, 
(Exodus  xix.  6 ;)  before  them  their  enemies  would  be  com- 
pelled to  play  the  hypocrite,  and  they  should  tread  on  their 
high  places,  (Deut.  xxxiii.  29  ;)  through  them  all  nations  were 
to  be  blessed,  and  as  the  dispensers  of  blessing,  the  latter  must 
by  consequence  take  up  towards  them  the  position  of  depend- 
ent petitioners,  (Isaiah  xhv.  5  ;  xlv.  1 4.)  "  Thou  shalt  be 
above  only  and  thou  shalt  not  be  beneath,"  (Deuteronomy 
xxviii.  13-43  :)  So  ought  it  to  be  according  to  their  tiiie  idea, 
and  so  must  it  some  time  really  be :  compare  Daniel  vii.  27, 
"  and  the  kingdom  and  the  dominion,  and  the  power  over  the 
kingdoms  under  the  whole  heaven  shall  be  given  to  the  people 
of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High  :"  compare  also  Isaiah  Ixi.  5, 
"  and  strangers  shall  stand  and  feed  your  flocks,  and  the  sons 
of  the  alien  shall  be  your  ploughmen  and  your  vine-dressers." 
And  so  in  fact  it  is  now  as  to  the  essential  features :  in 
Christ  and  His  Church  Israel  has  attained  to  dominion  over 
the  world.  At  the  time,  however,  when  the  author  wrote,  the 
idea  and  the  reality  stood  in  most  glaring  contrast  to  each 
other.  "We  are  servants,"  it  is  said  in  Ezra  ix.  9.  In 
Lamentations  v.  8,  exactly  as  here,  those  are  styled  servants 
who  by  right  should  be  such,  although  they  actually  are  not — 
"  servants  rule  over  us  and  there  is  none  that  delivereth  out 
of  their  hand,"  on  which  Ch.  B.  Michaelis  remarks,  "  qui  nobis 
potius  si  pii  fuissemus  servire   debuissent,   Deut.   xxviii.  48. 


CHAPTER  X.   5-10.  227 

Princes  :    that  is,  by  right  and  according  to  God.     The  pas- 
sage of  chief  authority  on  this  point  is  Lamentations  i.  1 
where  Israel  is  called  "the  princess  over  the  provinces." 

Ver.  8.  Tlie  writer  now  proceeds  to  advance  considerations 
which  may  prove  a  consolation  in  such  abnormal  circum- 
stances. But  whoso  diggeth  a  ditch  (|*aiJ  is  a  pure  Aramaic 
word)  shall  fall  into  it.  It  was  the  custom  to  dig  ditches, 
which  were  covered  with  branches  of  trees,  in  order  to  catch 
lions  and  other  wild  beasts,  and  it  might  come  to  pass  that  a 
man  should  fall  unwittingly  into  the  ditch  which  he  himself 
had  dug.  That  which  may  happen  in  the  external  sense,  does 
always  and  inevitaljly  happen  when  any  one  digs  a  ditch  in  the 
moral  sense.  He  who  prepares  mischief  for  his  neighbour  v/ill 
himself  be  overtaken  by  ruin :  the  conquering  kingdoms  of  this 
world  prepare  their  own  downfall  by  that  which  they  do  to 
others ;  but  above  all  do  they  expose  themselves  to  inevi- 
table divine  vengeance  who  deal  unfairly  by  the  people  of 
God.  That  is  a  sweet  consolation  for  those  who  suffer 
wrong.  Passages  of  greatest  weight  in  relation  to  this  mat- 
ter are  Psalm  vii  16,  17,  "he  hath  made  a  pit  and  digged  it, 
but  he  falleth  into  the  ditch  which  he  maketh.  His  mischief 
returns  on  his  own  head,  and  his  wrong  cometh  down  on  his 
own  pate."  Psalm  Ivii.  7,  "  A  net  have  they  prepared  for  my 
steps,  they  bent  my  soul,  they  digged  before  me  a  ditch,  they 
fell  into  it  themselves,"  (compare  besides  Proverbs  xxvi.  27, 
Sirach  xxvii.  29).  Whoso  hreaketh  through  a  wall,  a  serpent 
shall  bite  him.  Serpents  often  lurked  in  walls  (Amos  v.  1 9). 
He  therefore  who  breaks  through  a  common  wall  may  easily 
get  bitten  by  a  serpent.  That  which  happens  sometimes  physi- 
cally, takes  place  always  morally.  He  who  breaks  through 
a  wall  in  the  moral  world,  he  who  makes  attacks  on  the 
property  of  his  neighbour,  is  bitten  by  the  serpent  of  divine 
righteousness,  so  certainly  as  that  God  has  spoken,  "thou 
shalt  not  remove  thy  neighbour's  landmarks  "  (Deuteronomy 
xix.  14),  and  "cursed  is  he  who  removes  his  neighbour's 
landmarks"  (Deuteronomy  xxvii.  17).  The  snake  is  used  as 
an  image  of  divine  judgment  also  in  Amos  ix.  3.  "ilJ  and 
nmj  designate  in  particular  the  walls  built  to  protect  vine- 
yards and  other  property. 

Ver.   9.    Whoso   looseneth  stones   (compare    D''33X  yon    "to 


228  CHAPTER  X.   5-10. 

break  stones  loose"  in  1  Kings  v.  31)  shall  he  hurt  therewith 
(LXX.,  hia-TTovSyisirai  h  ahroTg^  tvhoso  cleaveth  tvood  shall  he  in- 
jured thereby,  *3p  in  the  Chaldee,  "periculo  se  exposuit,"  in 
Hithpael,  "in  periculo  versari,"  connected  with  pD»  "poor" 
in  chap.  iv.  13,  ix.  15,  16  ;  with  m:3Da  "poverty,"  in  Deuter- 
onomy viii.  9  ;  and  with  pDD  "  impoverished "  in  Isaiah  xl. 
20.  In  common  life  one  may  easily  receive  injuries  whilst 
engaged  in  occupations  requiring  violent  exertion.  But  he 
will  inevitably  receive  injury  who  in  the  moral  sphere  carries 
on  occupations  involving  violence,  who  does  works,  which  in 
respect  of  force  resemble  the  breaking  of  stones,  and  the 
splitting  of  wood. 

Vev.  10.  The  misery  of  the  heathen  world  is  that  it  does 
not  possess  in  wisdom  a  corrective,  that,  in  fact,  it  has  no- 
thing on  which  the  iron  of  their  understanding  may  be 
whetted  when  its  edge  has  become  duU.  In  this  respect  the 
people  of  God  has  an  infinite  advantage  over  it.  Whoso 
possesses  such  a  corrective  must  be  exalted,  however  deeply 
he  may  have  sunk  :  he  who  possesses  it  not,  must  perish, 
to  whatever  height  he  may  have  risen.  When  the  iron  has 
hecome  dull,  nnp  is  only  another  mode  of  writing  nna.  Piel, 
however,  is  used  there  undeniably  in  an  intransitive  sense  : 
and  that  the  iron  must  be  the  subject  here  is  clear  from 
what  follows  :  "  and  he,"  to  wit,  he  whom  it  concerns,  the 
owner  of  the  hatchet  ;  whereas  this  could  not  well  be  if  this 
owner  did  not  already  form  the  subject  to  r\r\p.  D'':a  signifies 
first  "face"  then  "edge  :"  so  in  Ezekiel  xxi.  21.  \h\>  "  to  be 
light,"  in  the  Pilp.  form,  "  to  make  light,"  then  "  to  sharpen  ;" 
for  this  latter  meaning  we  need  adduce  no  examples,  seeing 
that  "  to  sharpen "  is  simply  "  to  make  light."  D''^*n  occurs 
elsewhere  also  in  the  sense  of  "  powers  ;"  and  "i23  in  that  of 
"  to  strengthen,"  (Zechariah  x.  6,  1 2).  He  puts  to,  applies, 
more  strength,  but  without  attaining  a  satisfactory  result. 
This  holds  good  both  of  the  physical  and  the  spiritual  sphere. 
The  verb  -lt^'D  is  used  in  the  sense  of  "  to  be  right "  in  Esther 
viii.  5  ;  the  substantive  p-^B'a  in  that  of  "  capacity,  ability," 
in  chap.  ii.  21,  iv.  4  of  this  book.  On  this  ground  we  are 
justified  in  attaching  to  the  word  T'jj'an  here,  the  meaning, 
"  to  make  right,  to  amend,  to  correct," — a  meaning,  moreover, 
which  suits  the  connection  admirably.      Others  have  adopted 


CHAPTER  X.   11-20.  229 

the  less  appropriate  explanation,  "  ea  est  sapientise  prsestantia, 
ut  prosperum  eventum  consiliis  suorum  spondeat,"  appealing 
to  the  fact  that  '■\^:2  occurs  in  the  sense  of  "  prosper "  in  chap, 
xi.  6,  and  p-iK^a  in  that  of  "  gain,  advantage  "  in  chap.  v.  1 0. 


CHAPTER  X.  11-20. 

In  order  to  quicken  in  the  minds  of  his  fellow-countrymen 
the  hope  of  an  imminent  termination  of  the  rule  of  their 
tyrants,  the  author  points  out  that  their  character  is  such  as 
to  render  it  impossible  for  them  to  continue  long  their  present 
courses.  Of  that  character  wickedness  and  folly  are  funda- 
mental features,  (ver.  11-15.)  The  king  and  his  nobles  are 
given  up  to  drunkenness  and  debauchery,  (ver.  16,  17.) 

The  system  of  state  is  utterly  destitute  of  moral  vigour : 
speedy  ruin  is  promised  by  the  prevailing  rottenness  and  sensual- 
ity, and  by  the  omnipotence  of  gold,  (ver.  18,  19.)  In  ver. 
20,  the  author  indicates  the  reason  why,  when  treating  of  the 
events  and  relations  of  his  time,  he  limits  himself  to  gentle 
and  enigmatical  hints — a  character  which  for  the  sake  of 
clearness  we  have  not  kept  up  in  our  exposition  of  the  con- 
tents of  the  book. 

Ver.  11.  If  the  snake  bites  luithoid  enchantment,  so  has 
the  man  of  an  evil  tongue  no  advantage.  Ver.  12.  The 
words  of  a  wise  mans  mouth  are  gracious,  and  the  lips  of 
the  fool  swallo'W  up  himself.  Ver.  1 3.  The  beginning  of  the 
words  of  his  mouth  is  foolishness,  and  the  end^  of  his  mouth 
mischievous  m^adness.  Ver.  14.  And  the  fool  maketh  many 
words  ;  man  knoiueth  not  what  shall  be,  and  what  will  hap- 
pen after  him,  who  could  tell  it  ?  Ver.  1 3.  The  labour  of 
the  fool  wearieth  him,  because  he  knoweth  not  how  to  go  to  the 
city.  Ver.  16.  Woe  to  thee,  0  Land,  tvhose  king  is  a  child, 
and  whose  princes  eat  in  the  morning.  Ver.  1 7.  Blessed  art 
thou,  0  Land,  whose  king  is  a  son  of  the  noble,  and  whose 
princes  eat  in  due  season,  for  strength  and  not  for  gluttony. 
Ver.  18.  Through  great  rottenness  sinketh  the  beam,  and 
through  idleness  of  the  hands  drippeth  the  house.  Ver.  1 9. 
Eating  change  they  into  laughter,  and  wine  maketh  glad  the 
living,  and  money  ansivereth  all  thiiigs.     Ver,   20.  Even  in 


230  .  CHAPTER  X.   11-20. 

tliy  closet  curse  not  the  king,  and  in  thy  bed-chamher  curse 
not  the  rich,  for  the  birds  of  heaven  carry  the  voice,  and  that 
which  hath  wings  shall  tell  the  matter. 

Ver.  1 1 .  When  suftering  under  the  evil  tongue  of  the 
heathen,  Israel  is  exhorted  to  look  to  the  divine  retribution, 
which  will  come  not  only  on  the  works  of  the  hands,  but  also 
on  the  works  of  the  tongue,  (Matthew  xii.  36,  37.)  He  will 
thus  see  that  the  man  who  is  sinned  against  with  the  tongue 
is  in  a  better  case  than  the  man  who  sins  with  his  tongue. 
The  snake  is  here  the  sjoiritual  snake,  to  wit,  the  man  whose 
poisonous  wickedness  causes  him  to  resemble  the  snake.  In 
the  New  Testament  the  wicked  pharisees  are  styled  of£/;, 
ymriiMara  i-x^ihujv.  To  the  snake  corresponds,  in  the  second 
clause,  the  "owner  of  the  tongue."  Without  enchantment ; 
this  is  never  applied  when  it  is  foreseen  that  it  will  he  fruitless. 
To  enchantment,  in  the  case  of  ordinary  snakes,  correspond 
supplicative  prayers  in  the  case  of  spiritual  snakes.  The  main 
passage  on  this  point  is  Psalm  Iviii.  5,6:  "  Poison  have  they 
(the  wicked)  like  the  poison  of  snakes  :  like  a  deaf  adder 
stoppeth  he  his  ear.  Which  hearkeneth  not  to  the  voice  of 
the  charmer,  of  the  enchanter,  who  can  enchant  well."  The 
commentary  to  the  words  has  no  advantage  is  supplied  by  the 
declaration  of  ver.  1 2,  "  the  lips  of  the  fool  swallow  up  him- 
self," and  by  that  of  ver.  8,  "  he  that  diggeth  a  ditch  shall 
fall  into  it."  The  connection,  referring  as  it  does  to  serpents, 
defines  the  tongue,  more  precisely,  to  be  the  evil  poisonous 
tongue.  Psalm  cxl.  12,  supplied  the  foundation  for  the  ex- 
pression, "the  possessor  of  the  tongue  ;" — "the  man  of  the 
tongue  will  not  prosper  in  the  land."  The  man  of  the  tongue, 
is  put  there  in  contrast  to  the  man  of  wicked  and  violent 
deeds.  In  ver.  3  of  the  same  Psalm  we  read,  "  they  sharpen 
their  tongue  like  the  serpent ;  adder's  poison  is  under  their 
lips  :"  and  this  passage,  along  with  Psalm  Iviii,  serves  as  a 
commentary  on  the  figurative  description  of  enemies  as  snakes. 

Ver.  1 2.  jn  is  the  grace  that  wins  favour.  Compare  Pro- 
verbs xxii.  11,"  He  that  loveth  pureness  of  heart,  for  the  grace 
of  his  lips,  the  king  is  his  friend."  Psalm  xlv.  2,  "  grace  was 
poured  out  over  thy  lips."  Luke  ii.  52  ;  iv.  22,  "  and  all  bare 
him  witness,  and  wondered  at  the  gracious  words,  (j-rri  roTg 
Xoyoig  7r,g  p^a^/roj,)  whicb  proceeded   out  of  his  mouth."      La 


CHAPTER  X.   11 --20.  231 

Christ  was  fully  verified  the  sajdng,  "  the  words  of  the  wise, 
that  is,  of  the  true  Israelites,  are  giace  :"  by  his  grace,  in 
which  each  of  his  servants  participates,  he  draws  the  whole 
heathen  world  to  himself  The  lips  are  used  to  represent 
speech,  discourse,  in  the  second  clause.  Tlie  lips  of  the  fool, 
of  the  heathen  in  his  natural  condition,  and  specially  of  the 
heathen  tyrant  and  dominant  nation,  swallow  them  up,  because 
they  set  them  at  emnity  with  God  and  man.  Their  thought 
was  to  swallow  up  others,  to  destroy  others  by  their  mischie- 
vous discourse  :  (compare  Psalm  v.  1 0,  "  their  throat  is  an 
open  sepulchre:")  but  instead  of  swallowing  up  others  they 
swallow  up  themselves.  Compare  Proverbs  xviil  7,  "  A  fool's 
mouth  prepares  him  horror,  and  his  lips  are  a  snare  to  his 
soul ;"  and  Psalm  Ixiv.  9,  "  and  they  are  cast  down,  over  them 
Cometh  their  own  tongue,"  so  far,  namely,  as  it  draws  upon 
them  the  punishment  and  judgment  of  God. 

Ver.  13.  In  the  proportion  in  which  we  bring  before  our 
minds  the  entire  extent  of  the  foolishness  of  our  enemy,  in 
that  proportion  will  our  hope  of  final  victory  be  lively.  Such 
as  are  every  inch  fools  cannot  be  far  from  ruin.  The  end  of 
his  mouth,  which  Hitzig  rightly  explains,  "  the  end  which  his 
mouth  makes  with  its  discoursings."  Mischievous  madness, 
that  is,  madness  which  is  hurtful  first  to  others,  but  afterwards 
also  to  himself,  so  certainly  as  there  is  a  divine  retributioiL 
He  is  not  a  good-natured,  harmless,  but  a  mischievous,  fooL 

Ver.  14.  And  the  fool  maketh  many  words  : — words  such 
as  those  of  which  James  speaks  in  chap.  iv.  1 3,  of  his  Epistle, 
(compare  also  Luke  xii.  18-20,)  to  wit,  plans  for  the  future, 
what  he  will  then  do,  how  he  will  live  in  splendour  and 
merriness,  how  he  will  spread  himself  out  in  aU  directions  and 
humble  all  his  foes.  That  this  is  the  more  precise  import  of 
the  words  is  evident  from  what  follows.  It  is,  fui-thermore, 
of  the  nature  of  the  "  fool,"  to  talk  of  such  matters  ;  this 
therefore  by  itself  would  justify  the  explanation  given.  To 
all  the  high  flying  thoughts  and  proud  words  of  the  Persian 
the  be  was  all  at  once  given  on  the  appearance  of  Alexander. 
That  event  proved  the  author  of  this  book  to  be  a  wise  man. 

Ver.  15.  True  religion  aflbrds  fine  culture.  Even  Moses 
described  the  people  of  God  as,  by  divine  grace,  the  wisest 
among  the  nations,    (Deuteronomy  iv.,)  and  the  heathen  as  a 


232  ,  CHAPTER  X.   11-20. 

foolish  people,  (Dent,  xxxii.)  That  which  in  Genesis  xlix.  21, 
is  spoken  primarily  of  Naphtali — "  he  giveth  goodly  words" 
• — is  but  an  individualization,  and  holds  good  substantially  oj 
entire  Israel.  The  Persians  appeared  as  coarse  barbarians  in 
comparison  with  the  people  of  God  :  and  it  was  impossible 
that  the  supreme  power  should  remain  long  in  the  hands  of 
such  blunderers.  Where  the  mind,  the  spirit  is,  there  in  the 
long  run  must  be  the  authority.  The  work  of  the  fool  wearies 
Jiim ;  and  for  the  simple  reason,  that  we  can  only  carry  on 
that  business  with  pleasure  and  love,  for  which  we  have 
spiritual  capacity,  h'av  is  treated  as  a  feminine  for  the  sake  of 
avoiding  the  violation  of  euphony  which  would  be  presented 
in  the  verb  by  the  third  masculine.  Because  he  knoiveth  not 
hotv  to  go  to  the  city :  compare  Proverbs  xiii.  16;  xiv.  8,  "the 
prudent  man  in  his  wisdom  understandeth  his  way,"  and  ver. 
5,  "the  prudent  man  understandeth  his  step."  Here,SLS  ver.  3 
shows,  he  cannot  even  find  his  way — he  is  at  sea  regarding 
it.  The  way  into  the  city  is  specified,  as  being  the  most 
frequented.  He  who  is  unable  to  find  that,  must  be  sadly 
gnorant  of  the  bearings  of  a  district.* 

Ver.  16.  Woe  to  thee,  0  Land,  whose  king  is  a  child.  Out 
of  a  prudent  regard  to  his  position  and  circumstances  the 
author  here  uses  indefinite  and  general  language,  (compare  v. 
20  :)  at  the  same  time  it  is  clear  enough  from  the  context, 
(specially  from  ver.  3  9,)  that  he  had  in  view  the  state  of  the 
Persian  Empire.  It  is  in  reality  as  if  he  said — "  Woe  to  thee, 
O  Land  of  Persia,  because  thy  kings  are  children  ?"  That  -ij;3 
refers,  not  to  age,  but  to  boyish  childish  character,  is  plain  both 
from  the  context,  (Geier  says,  "  a  stultitia  absolute  considerata 
pergit  ad  certam  ejus  speciem,  ratione  peculiaris  subjecti,  nempe 
in  magistratu  constituti ;")  from  the  parallel  passages  here, 
and  from  the  contrast  drawn  in  ver.  1 7.  In  precisely  the 
same  manner  is  Rehoboam  called  "lyj  in  2  Chronicles  xiii.  7, 
although  when  he  ascended  the  throne  he  was  already  forty- 
one  years  old  :  so  also  in  Isaiah  iii.  1 2,  are  bad  rulers  des- 
cribed as  women  and  children,  (compare  further  1  Corinth. 
xiv.    20.)     Not  only  had   Xerxes   a   boyish   character,   but, 

*  Rambach  says,  "  Similitudo  desumta  est  a  viatore,  qui  ad  urbem  factiirus 
iter  rectam  ignorat  viam  atque  proinde  errabundus  per  avia  et  invia  circa  urbem 
vagatur." 


CHAPTER  X.  11-20.  238 

according  to  the  Israelitish  standard,  according  to  the  standard 
of  God's  law,  even  the  better  Persian  rulers  were  more  like  boys 
than  men.  And  whose  jJrinces  eat  in  the  inorning,  that  is,  at 
the  time  which  ought  to  be  devoted  to  serious  and  important 
business. 

Ver.  17.  "A  noble,"  not  merely  by  birth,  but  in  disposition 
and  customs.  The  words  for  strength  and  not  for  drunken- 
ness, (or  gluttony,)  show  clearly  enough  what  the  writer  has 
in  mind.  He  does  not  refer  to  invigoration,  but  to  intemper- 
ate drinking,  and  the  pleasures  connected  therewith. 

Ver.  1 8.  Luther  remarks — "  he  introduces  a  proverb,  as  if 
he  meant  to  say, — in  such  a  kingdom  or  land,  where  the  great 
lords  and  mighty  men  seek  their  own  profit,  and  the  king  is 
without  sense,  things  go  on  as  they  do  in  the  house  of  an  idle 
man,  who  might  frequently  repair  his  roof  and  protect  it 
against  the  weather  for  a  penny,  but  lets  the  rain  come  through 
till  at  last  the  entire  building  is  damaged.  For  where  the 
master  of  a  house  is  not  industrious,  always  building  and 
repairing,  one  damage  is  sure  to  foUow  on  the  heels  of  another." 
The  house  is  the  edifice  of  state.  Double  rottenness,  is  great 
rottenness,  as  Kushan  Rishataim,  "  double  wickedness,"  means 
great  wickedness ;  in  Ezekiel  xlvii.  9,  "  the  double  stream" 
means  "the  strong  stream,"  and  as  in  Jeremiah  1.  21,  D"'m» 
"  double  apostacy,"  signifies  great  apostacy.  ni^DC'  "  low  place," 
designates  here,  a  miserable  reduced  condition. 

Ver.  1 9.  Bread  they  make  to  laughter.  Here  it  is  quite  clear 
that  the  author  is  not  giving  general  observations,  but  depict- 
ing things  as  they  really  and  truly  existed.  Hitzig  says, 
"  That  which  in  ver.  1 6  was  not  affirmed,  to  wit,  that  the 
home  of  the  speaker  was  such  an  unhappy  country,  is  here 
added."  Laughter  is  used  in  chap.  ii.  2,  for  extravagant  mer- 
riment. Elsewhere  p)n'^b  always  means  "  to  laughter,"  and 
consequently  may  not  in  this  place  be  translated,  "amidst 
laughter."  If  p^nzh  H'-n  signifies,  "  to  become  laughter,"  then 
will  p)r\'^^  ntJ'y  mean  "  to  make  to  laughter," — to  laughter,  not 
in  the  passive,  but  in  the  active  sense.  Besides,  nt'y  along 
with  ^  is  employed  in  other  places  to  designate  that  into 
which  anything  is  made  :  compare  Isaiah  xliv.  1 7,  "  the  re- 
mainder he  maketh  to  a  God,"  innsc'  ^:^•y  hi6.  Bread,  which 
should  serve  to  give  strength,  serves  them  only  as  a  vehicle  of 


234  CHAPTER  X.   11-20. 

laughter.  Their  meal  times  are  scenes  of  excess.  And  wine 
maketh  glad  the  living.  This  is  plainly  a  dictum  taken  from 
the  mouths  of  the  "  merry  carousers."  It  is  a  compendium  of 
Isaiah  xxii.  1 3,  (compare  1  Cor.  where  the  godless  say,  "  let 
us  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die."  A7id  'money 
answereth  all  things  :  njy  with  the  accusative  signifies  "  to 
answer,"  (Job  xxxi.  35,)  and  then  "to  be  answerable  for," 
(Job.  xxxiii.  1 3.)  Money  is  the  answer  to  all  charges,  the 
apology  for  aU  crimes  :  lie  who  has  money  may  allow  himself 
any  liberty,    njy  cannot  signify  "to  afford,  to  confer." 

Ver.   20.   The  author  now  assigns  the  reason  why,  in  the 
part  immediately  preceding,  and  in  fact  throughout  the  whole 
book,  he  had  spoken  of  the  circumstances  of  the  Persian  Em- 
pire in  such  a  vague  and  indistinct  manner.      Openness  under 
a  tyrannical  government  is  dangerous  and  ruinous.      Ewald 
renders  the  sense  as  follows,  "  as  well  on  account  of  the  great 
danger  of  treachery,  as  in  consideration  that  duty,  (chap.  viii. 
2,)  forbids  it,  we  should  never  permit  ourselves  to  curse  our 
rulers  even  in  the  greatest  secrecy."     The  advice,  however,  is 
rather  a  simple  rule  of  prudence,  and  may  be  subsumed  under 
that  saying  of  our  Lord's,  ymak    (pp6viij,oi    ug   o'l  opig.      Only  a 
false  explanation  can  find,  in  chap.  viii.  2,  a  reference  to  the 
duty  of  which  Ewald  speaks.      Nothing  is  said  of  such  a  duty 
in  the    entire    book :     on   the  contrary,   the  writer  says  the 
strongest  possible  things  against  the  heathen  tyrannical  rule — 
covertly,  however,  and  so  that  he  could  nowhere  be  laid  hold 
of      It  would,  in  truth,  have  been  perverse  to  judge  an  Asiatic 
tyranny  by  the  principles  laid  down  in  Romans   xiii ; — prin- 
ciples which  even  in  our  own  day  do  not  hold  good  for  Greeks 
in  relation  to  the  Turks.      The  word  J?10  belongs  to  the  lan- 
guage in  its  post-exile  period,  and  occurs  elsewhere  only  in  the 
sense   "insight,    understanding:"    so  also    the   Chaldee  j;nJO 
from  which  it  is  derived.      Here  it  is  usually  explained  by 
"consciousness,  thought."       This  meaning,   however,  besides 
being  uncertain,  does  not  appear  to  suit  the  connection ;  the 
word   hp  shows    that   the   writer    is    not   treating    of   mere 
thoughts, — besides  that,  the  sphere  of  thoughts  is  not  acces- 
sible to  espionage,  which  is  here  the  sole  subject  of  considera- 
tion.     It  is  the  simplest  course  to  understand  by  yiD,  "  study;" 
just  as  in  Latin,  stud'mm  is  used  both  of  studies,  and  of  the 


CHAPTER  XI.   1-3.  235 

place  where  studies  are  carried  on.  The  mention  of  "  the 
study "  cannot  surprise,  if  we  examine  chap.  xii.  12:  it  is 
moreover  very  suitably  employed  in  connection  with  "  bed- 
chamber," of  which  mention  is  made  also  in  2  Kings  vi.  1 2, 
"  Elisha,  the  prophet,  telleth  the  King  of  Israel  the  words 
which  thou  speakest  in  thy  bed-chamber."  The  rich  man  is 
the  Persian,  (compare  chap.  v.  11.)  On  the  words,  "for  the 
birds  of  heaven,  etc,"  the  Berleburger  Bible  remarks,  "  it  may 
come  out  by  no  visible  medium,  as  quickly  and  marvellously, 
as  if  a  bird  flying  by  or  seated  before  the  window  had  picked 
it  up." 


CHAPTER  XI.  1-3. 

In  view  of  the  threatened  judgments  of  God,  which  should 
soon  cast  down  the  proud  tree  of  the  Persian  Empire,  it  be- 
hoved them  not  to  iix  their  hearts  on  uncertain  riches,  but 
rather  to  seek  by  compassionate  and  benevolent  conduct  to 
gain  the  favour  of  God  who  is  able  to  deliver  his  children 
from  their  troubles  : — such  is  the  admonition  addressed  by 
the  author  to  his  narrow-hearted,  avaricious,  and  sordid  con- 
temporaries. 

Ver.  1.  Send  thy  bread  on  the  tvater,  for  thou  shalt  find 
it  after  many  days.  Ver.  2.  Give  a  portion  to  seven  and 
also  to  eight,  for  thou  hnowest  not  what  evil  shall  he  on  the 
earth.  Ver.  3.  //  the  clouds  be  full  of  rain  they  empty  them- 
selves upon  the  earth ;  and  if  the  tree  fall,  be  it  touurd  the 
south  or  be  it  toward  the  north,  in  the  place  where  it  falleth, 
there  it  shall  be. 

Ver.  1.  In  the  presence  of  great  catastrophes,  earthly  pos- 
sessions are  of  very  httle  value,  for  they  may  easily  be  over- 
whelmed therein  ;  on  the  contrary,  that  God  should  be  gi-acious 
towards  us  is  of  the  last  importance.  This  the  author  admon- 
ishes us  to  secure  by  benevolence,  and  by  putting  completely 
away  that  covetous  narrow-h carted ness,  which,  in  times  of  dis- 
tress, so  easily  creeps  into  the  heart.  The  image  is  boiTowed 
from  sea-trading.  In  that,  the  temporary  sacrifice  of  one's  pro- 
perty brings  in  a  rich  reward,  even  though  after  a  long  inter- 
val:    (according  to  1  Kings  x.  22,   Solomon's  vessels  returned 


236  CHAPTER  XL   1-3. 

from  Tarshish  once  in  three  years,  bringing  with  them  lich 
cargoes).  So  is  it  also  in  connection  with  benevolence  :  in 
His  own  good  time  the  Lord  restores  that  which  may  have 
been  given  to  sufferers  for  His  name's  sake.  If  one  casts  one's 
bread  on  the  water  in  the  usual  external  sense,  it  may  very 
easily  itself  become  water  should  the  ship  perish  ;  it  is  in  fact 
but  a  mere  experiment :  but  when  we  cast  our  bread  on  the 
water  in  the  spiritual  sense,  a  return  is  certain  ;  that  which 
we  have  staked  is  sure  to  come  back  again,  even  though  after 
a  long  season.  Jerome  says,  "  cum  dies  judicii  advenerit, 
multo  amplius  quam  dederat  recepturus :"  and  Cartwright, 
"  tametsi  enim  non  raro  lit,  ut  deus  compensationem  in  longum 
tempus  rejiciat,  tandem  tamen  mercedem  in  hac  vita,  certe 
quidem  in  futura  reponet."  We  have  here,  in  an  abbreviated 
form,  the  comparison  so  frequently  made,  and  which  is,  "  whoso 
giveth  alms  is  like  a  merchant  who  sends  his  property  over 
the  sea."  Verse  2,  which  gives  the  real  substance,  the  idea, 
contained  in  the  figurative  representation,  shows  that  we  must 
not  limit  our  attention  to  the  common  kind  of  trade.  n>D 
^JS  by  is  used  of  navigation  also  in  Job  xxiv.  18,  where  it  is 
said  of  pirates — "  swift  is  that  one  on  the  mirror  of  the  water." 
Parallel  in  point  of  significance  are  the  following  passages  : — 
Psalm  xli.  1,  2,  "Blessed  is  he  who  acts  prudently  towards 
the  wretched :  in  the  day  of  adversity  shall  the  Lord  deliver 
him.  The  Lord  will  preserve  him  and  keep  him  alive,  he  is 
blessed  in  the  land,  and  thou  mayest  not  deliver  him  unto  the 
will  of  his  enemies  :" — Proverbs  xix.  1 7,  "  he  that  giveth  to 
the  poor  lendeth  to  the  Lord,  and  his  gift  will  he  pay  him 
again:" — and  1  Timothy  vi.  18,  19,  where  the  apostle  pre- 
scribes to  the  rich,  ev/xiradoTovg  ihai,  xoivmiKoug,  aTodrjffaupi^ovras, 
tavroTc,  &i/MsXiov  xaXov  ug  rh  [I'sXkov.  Luke  vi.  38,  xvi.  9  ;  Gala- 
tians  vi.  9. 

Ver.  2.  Give  a  portion,  that  is,  of  thy  bread  (compare 
Isaiah  Iviii.  7,  1 0.)  The  addition  of  the  words,  "  also  to  eight," 
serves  the  purpose  of  indicating  that  the  number  seven  did 
not  mark  the  limit  of  the  extent  of  our  benevolence  : — not, 
"  at  the  utmost,  seven,"  but,  "  seven  and  more."  For  thou 
hnoiuest  not,  etc.,  and  there,  all  depends  on  making  to  thyself 
friends  of  the  unrighteous  mammon.  Cartwright  observes, 
"Ad  hanc  autem  munificentiam  te  excitare  debet  rerum  om- 


CHAPTER  XI.  1-3.  237 

nium  Europaea  veluti  inconstantia  et  incertitudo,  quid  aut  de 
te,  aut  divitiis,  quas  possides,  fiet :  ut  illud  merito  in  lucro 
deputes,  quod  in  pauperum  subsidium  conferendo  veluti  e 
flamma  et  incendio  eripueris."  In  point  of  thought  the  fol- 
lowing passages  may  be  adduced  as  parallels  ;  Psahn  cxii.  9, 
"he  disperseth,  he  giveth  to  the  poor,  his  righteousness  en- 
dureth  for  ever,  his  horn  is  exalted  with  honour," — words 
which,  by  the  way,  belong  also  to  the  period  of  the  rule  of 
the  Persians,  and  which  teach  the  Jews  that  if  they  were  per- 
vaded by  a  liberal  spirit,  they  would  at  some  future  time  cer- 
tainly rise  to  honour  : — and  then  further  Matthew  v.  4  2,  tcj 
ahovvri  ffi  d/Bov. 

Ver.  3.  Clouds  and  rain  are  a  usual  image  of  the  judg- 
ments of  God,  and  of  the  troubles  sent  by  him.  Compare  in 
respect  of  "  clouds,"  Isaiah  xix.  1  ;  Psalm  xcvii.  2  ;  Psalm 
xviii.  1 0  ;  Nahum  i.  3  ;  Jeremiah  iv.  13;  Revelations  1.  7  : 
in  regard  to  "  rain,"  compare  Song  of  Solomon,  ii.  11;  Isaiah 
iv.  6  ;  Matthew  vii.  24,  25.  Clouds  and  rain  are  employed 
as  designations  of  troubles  also  in  chap.  xii.  2.  The  thought 
is  identical  with  that  expressed  in  the  words  of  the  Lord — ■ 
"where  the  carcase  is,  there  will  the  eagles  be  gathered  to- 
gether." When  the  measure  of  sin  is  filled  up,  and  the  clouds 
of  divine  wrath  are  therefore  gathered  together,  the  storm  wiU 
inevitably  break  ;  in  the  day  when  such  an  outbreak  is  im- 
minent, every  one  should  ask  earnestly  in  his  heart,  "  how 
shall  I  receive  thee,  and  how  shall  I  meet  thee  ?"  in  order  that 
he  may  not  be  swept  away  by  the  wickedness  of  the  world. — 
The  connection  between  the  first  and  second  part  of  the  verse 
is  to  be  explained  from  the  fact  that  in  heavy  storms  trees 
are  not  unfrequently  cast  down  by  the  lightning  and  gusts 
of  wind  (compare  Psalm  xxix.)  The  tree  is  here  that  of  the 
Persian  Empire.  No  human  power  will  be  in  a  position  to 
delay  its  fall  when  it  has  once  begun,  or  to  raise  it  up  again 
after  it  is  down.  He  who  is  judged  by  God  remains  judged. 
Trees  are  a  common  symbol  of  the  mighty.  In  Isaiah  x.  18, 
the  trees  of  Assyria  are  its  great  men.  Nebuchadnezzar  the 
king  of  Babylon  is  represented  under  the  image  of  a  proud 
tree  in  Daniel  iv.  19 — "the  tree  art  thou,  O  king."  In 
Ezekiel  xxxi.  3  ff ,  Assyria  is  introduced  as  a  cedar  of  Lebanon, 
with  goodly  foliage,  and  its  top  reaching  unto  the  clouds.  See 
also  Revelations  vii.  1. 


*38  CHAPTER  XI.   4-6. 


VEKSES   4-6. 


Tlie  author  now  enters  the  lists  to  battle  with  the  tempta- 
tion to  despairing  inactivity  which  arose  out  of  the  circum- 
,  stances  of  the  time.     Their  unfavourableness  should  move  us 
on  the  contrary  to  redoubled  activity. 

Ver.  4.  He  that  observeth  the  wind  shall  not  sow,  and  he  that 
regardeth  the  clouds  shall  not  reap.  Ver.  5.  As  thou  knowest 
not  what  is  the  way  of  the  wind,  like  the  hones  in  the 
womb  of  her  that  is  ivith  child ;  even  so  thou  knowest  not 
the  ivork  of  God  ivho  maketh  all.  Ver.  6.  In  the  morning 
soiu  thy  seed,  and  in  the  evening  withhold  not  thine  hand  : 
for  thou  knoiuest  not  ivhether  shall  prosper,  either  this  or  that, 
or  ivhether  they  both  shall  be  alike  good. 

Ver.  4.  The  unfavourable  circumstances  of  the  time  exerted 
a  crippling  influence.  Men  were  dejected,  and  gave  themselves 
up  to  listlessness  and  despair — they  were  incHned  to  lay  their 
hands  in  their  bosom  and  wait  for  better  times.  Against  this 
the  author  here  raises  his  warning  voice.  Under  all  circum- 
stances we  should  do  our  duty  and  let  God  care  for  us.  Sow- 
ing and  reaping  are  employed  here  after  the  example  of  Psalm 
cxxvi.  5,  to  designate  activity.  To  the  wind,  which  -may 
easily  blow  away  the  seed,  and  to  the  clouds  which  threaten 
to  injure  the  harvests,  correspond  the  unfavourable  circum- 
stances of  the  time.  In  explaining  the  abbreviated  comparison 
used  by  the  author,  Cartwright  says,  "whoso  layeth  his' hands 
in  his  bosom,  because  the  circumstances  of  the  time  are  un- 
favourable, perinde  esse  acsi  agricola  sementem  facere  recusaret, 
quia  ventus  paulo  vehementius  flat :  unde  fit  ut  de  die  in  diem 
sementem  proferens  semiuandi  tempus  prseterfluat."  With  a 
special  application  to  the  preaching  of  the  word,  Jerome  re- 
marks, "  opportune,  importune  suo  tenore  Dei  sermo  est  pi-se- 
dicandus,  nee  fidei  tempore,  adversariarum  nubium  consideranda 
tempestas. — Absque  consideratione  ergo  nubium  et  timore 
ventorum  in  mediis  tempestatibus  seminandum  est.  Nee 
dicendum,  illud  tempus  commodum,  hoc  inutile,  quum  ignor- 
emus,  qu8e  via,  et  quae  voluntas  sit  spiritus  universa  dispen- 
santis." 

Ver.  5,  Things  turn  out  very  often  quite  otherwise  than 


CHAPTER  XI.  7,  8.  289 

the  understanding  of  men  anticipated.  For  this  reason  we 
should  avoid  puzzling  our  minds  much  with  the  circumstances 
of  the  time,  we  should  do  what  God  commands  and  leave 
results  to  him.  There  is  no  doubt  that  our  Lord  alluded  to 
the  first  words  of  the  verse,  when  he  said  in  John  iii.  8,  of 
the  wind  oux  olhag  •rokv  spx^rai  xal  rrov  v-rrdysi.  Like  the  hones, 
or,  in  other  words,  as  it  is  with  the  bones.  The  only  point 
of  ^  comparison  is  the  invisibility.  The  principal  passage  in 
this  connection  is  Psalm  cxxxix.  15,  "My  bones  were  not  hid 
from  thee  when  I  was  made  in  secret,  when  I  was  wrought  in 
the  depths  of  the  earth."  Bone  is  in  the  Hebrew  so  desig- 
nated from  the  strength  which  it  has,  and,  as  the  most  impor- 
tant part  of  the  body,  is  used  to  represent  the  whole. 

Ver.  6.  Be  incessantly  active !  Precisely  in  troublous  and 
wretched  times  should  we  be  most  restlessly  active,  for  then 
many  things  that  we  do  may  fail  of  success.  The  more  doubtful 
the  results  of  our  undertakings,  the  less  should  we  be  disposed 
to  lay  our  hands  in  our  bosom. 


VERSES    7,  8. 

Better  to  be  dead  !  So  were  people  exclaiming  on  all  hands 
at  the  time  of  the  author.  He,  on  the  contrary,  insists  on  the 
importance  of  life  as  a  noble  gift  of  God,  and  warns  against 
thanklessly  regarding  it  in  a  mistaken  light. 

Ver.  7.  And  sweet  is  the  light,  and  a  pleasant  thing  is  it 
for  the  eyes  to  see  the  sun.  Ver.  8.  For  if  a  man  live  many 
years,  let  him  rejoice  in  them  all ;  yet  let  him  remember  the 
days  of  darkness  that  they  shall  he  many :  all  that  cometh  is 
vanity. 

Ver.  7.  However  gTcat  are  the  sufferings  of  this  life,  how- 
ever manifold  is  the  vanity  to  which  the  world  has  been  sub- 
jected since  the  day  spoken  of  in  Genesis  iii.,  however  sad  are 
the  circumstances  of  the  time,  it  still  remains  true,  that  life  is 
a  good  thing ;  and  when  a  gloomy  and  depressing  mood  gets 
the  upper  hand  in  the  Church,  it,  is  the  task  of  the  word  of 
God  to  impress  upon  it  this  truth. 

Ver.  8.  Christ  has  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light. 
For  him  who  is  in   Christ  the  argument  has  no  longer  the 


240  CHAPTER  XT.   9 XII.  7. 

weight  it  had  under  the  old  covenant :  we  can  no  more  allow 
the  light  of  this  life  to  be  darkened  by  the  shadow  of  Sheol. 
To  be  weary  of  life  is,  however,  still  a  sin,  even  under  the  new 
Covenant.  A  pious  heart  will  seek  out  the  bright  sides  of 
our  earthly  existence,  and  contemplate  them  with  sincere 
thankfulness. 


CHAPTER  XI.  9.— CHAPTER  XII.  7. 

At  a  time  when  dark  discontent  had  got  the  mastery  over 
the  minds  of  men,  the  Spirit  of  God  exhorts  them  through  the 
writer  of  this  book  to  enjoy  cheerfully  divine  gifts,  admonish- 
ing them,  however,  in  order  to  prevent  carnal  misunderstand- 
ings, to  keep  in  view  the  account  they  will  have  one  day  to 
give  to  the  Holy  God,  of  all  their  doings  : — he  warns  them 
to  remember  their  Creator,  who  alone  has  the  power  to  render 
their  life  prosperous  and  happy.  In  depicting  the  joylessness 
of  the  age,  he  shows  how  fitting  it  is  to  enter  betimes  on  this 
path  of  self-surrender  to  the  Creator,  to  consecrate  even  the 
bloom  of  youth  to  Him,  lest  when  we  arrive  at  the  end  of  our 
days,  after  a  miserable  and  curse-laden  life — (and  apart  from 
fellowship  with  God  there  is  nought  but  misery  and  curse) — ■ 
we  should  be  compelled,  looking  back  on  a  wasted  existence, 
to  cry  in  despair,  "  too  late."  The  whole  concludes  with  a 
reference  to  the  judgment  awaiting  men  after  death. 

Chap.  xi.  9.  Rejoice  0  young  man  in  thy  youth :  and  let 
thy  heart  cheer  thee  in  the  days  of  thy  youth,  and  lualk  in  the 
ways  of  thine  heart,  and  in  the  sight  of  thine  eyes  :  hut  know 
that  for  all  this  God  will  bring  thee  into  judgment.  Ver. 
10.  And  remove  discontent  fro'in  thy  heart,  and  put  away 
evil  from  thy  flesh :  for  youth  and  the  dawn  of  life  are  vanity. 
Chap.  xii.  1.  And  remember  thy  Creator  in  the  days  of  thy 
youth,  before  the  evil  days  come,  and  the  years  draw  nigh, 
of  vjhich  thou  shall  say,  I  have  no  ]^leasure  in  them.  Ver.  2. 
Before  the  sun  be  darkened,  and  the  light,  and  the  moon,  and 
the  stars,  and  the  clouds  return  after  the  rain.  Ver.  3.  In 
the  day  ivhen  the  keepers  of  the  house  shall  tremble,  and  the 
strong  men  bow  themselves,  and  the  grinders  cease  because  they 
are  become  few,  and  those  that  look  out  of  the  windows  he 


CHAPTER  XI.  9. XII.  7.  241 

darkened.  Ver.  -i.  And  the  doors  are  shut  in  the  streets,  in 
that  the  sound  of  the  grind/lng  is  loiv,  and  he  riseth^up  at  the 
voice  of  the  bird,  and  all  the  daughters  of  song  are  bent  down. 
Ver.  5.  Also  they  are  afraid  of  that  which  is  high,  and  ter- 
rors, (are  for  them,)  in  the  way,  and  the  ahnond  tree  fiourish- 
eth,  and  the  locust  becometh  burdensome,  and  desire  faileth, 
because  man  goeth  to  his  everlasting  home,  and  the  mourners 
go  about  in  the  street.  Ver.  6.  Before  then  the  diver  cord  be 
removed,  and  the  golden  bowl  haste  avjay,  and  the  pitcher  be 
broken  at  the  fountain,  and  the  wheel  be  dashed  to  pieces  at 
the  cistern.  Ver.  7.  And  the  dust  returneth  to  the  earth  as  it 
%vas,  and  the  spirit  returneth  to  God  who  gave  it. 

Chap,  xi,  9.  Tlie  writer  directs  his  discourse  to  the  youth 
because  he  has  still  to  choose  his  path  in  life,  and  good  ad- 
vice is  consequently  most  appropriate  in  his  case.  Let  thy 
heart  cheer  thee :  the  heart  is  mentioned  because  it  is  the 
fountain  from  which  cheerfulness  is,  as  it  were,  diffused  over 
the  whole  man:  compare  Proverbs  xiv.  30,  "a  sound  heart  is 
the  life  of  the  body :"  and  chap.  xv.  13,  "a  merry  heart 
maketh.  a  cheerful  countenance.'"*  Many  of  the  older  com- 
mentators look  upon  this  summons  to  cheerfulness  as  ironical; 
so  that  it  would  be  substantially  a  dissuasion  therefrom.f 
There  is,  however,  no  satisfactory  reason  for  taking  such  a 
view,  especially  when  we  bear  in  mind  that  the  disease  of  the 
age  was  not  excess,  but  dull  melancholy.  It  is  furthermore 
inconsistent  with  a  whole  number  of  parallel  passages,  in 
which  men  are  exhorted  to  the  cheerful  enjoyment  of  God's 
gifts.  And  lastly,  in  verse  10,  to  a  very  forced  explanation 
of  which  that  view  would  lead,  by  D^D,  we  should  then  be 
compelled  to  understand  "  passionateness,"  to  which  youth  is 
specially  inclined,  and  by  nyn    "  badness "  in  general.:!;     The 

*  Geiersays :  "  Ex  corde  vel  animo  de  amore  dei  certo  redundet  pia  ac  honesta 
refectio  in  totum  corpus." 

t  For  example,  Cartwright  also  observes:  " In  priore  dehortatio  adhibetur, 
primum  tropo  ironias  exornata:  et  deinde  simplici  oratione  exposita.  .  . 
Nee  enim  oleum  igni  addit  sed  contra  frenum  juveni  injicit." 

X  The  fundamental  idea  of  the  book,  to  which  the  present  verse  owes  its 
origin,  was  quite  correctly  perceived  and  admirably  presented  by  Witsius  in 
his  Essay  on  chap.  xii.  1,  in  the  Misc.  s.  ii.,  p.  1G5,  "  toto  libro  nil  nisi  virtus 
docetur,  non  fucata  ilia,  austera,  tetrica,  qua;  ex  sordibus  et  illuvie  ac  d(peidice, 
Tov  aui/MCCTog,  laudem  capiat. :  sed  ingenua,  liberalis,  hilaris  qua;  deprchensa 
renim  cajterarum  inanitate  felicitatem  suam  quiErit  et  invenit  in  conscientia 


242  CHAPTER  XI.  9. XIT.  7. 

words,  "  walk  in  the  ways  of  thine  heart  and  in  the  sight  of 
thine  eyes,"  would  be  at  variance  with  the  passage,  Numbers 
XV.  39,  to  which  allusion  is  probably  here  made — "  ye  shall 
remember  all  the  commandments  of  the  Lord  and  do  them, 
and  ye  shall  not  follow  after  your  own  heart  and  your  own 
eyes,  after  which  ye  use  to  go  a  whoring" — were  they  not 
defined  and  limited  by  the  succeeding  warning — "  but  know, 
etc."*  There  is  undoubtedly  a  difference  between  the  two 
passages.  In  the  one  only  unallowed  merriness  is  forbidden  : 
in  the  other  permitted  merriness  is  recommended, — to  a  gene- 
ration, namely,  which  had  lost  its  joy  in  life,  which  was  con- 
sumed by  a  murmuring  disposition,  and  which  tried  to  force 
God  to  redeem  it  by  means  of  a  gloomy  and  rigid  asceti- 
cism. Cheerfulness,  here,  is  not  merely  permitted  :  it  is  com- 
manded, and  represented  as  an  essential  element  of  piety. 
Emphasis  must  be  laid  equally  on  the  word  "  walk "  and  on 
the  word  "  know."  Even  in  Leviticus  xiii.  1 2  and  Deutero- 
nomy xxviii.  34,  D^J''y  nx"i!0  signifies  that  which  we  see  with 
our  eyes.  The  Masorites  wished  to  change  the  plural,  which 
refers  to  the  multiplicity  of  the  objects  of  sight,  into  the 
singular,  because  they  falsely  supposed  nsio  to  denote  the 
"  act  of  sight."  To  walk  in  that  which  we  see  with  our  eyes 
is  to  be  mentally  occupied  with  it,  to  have  pleasure  in  it,  in 
contradiction  to  either  a  strict  and  gloomy  asceticism  or  a  dis- 
contented dullness  and  insensibihty.  Into  the  judgment, 
which  wiU  be  carried  on  according  to  the  standard  of  God's 
revealed  law.  Whatever  is  in  opposition  to  this  must  inevi- 
tably be  expiated  by  punishment, — by  punishment,  too, which  is 
executed  not  only  in  tlie  future  world,  but  aflfects  the  whole  of 
our  present  life.  For  God  is  angry  every  day  (Psalm  vii  1 2). 
Ver.  1 0.  The  last  verse  exhorted  to  a  divine  cheerfulness  : 
this  verse  dissuades  from  that  which  stands  in  its  way.  Dya 
signifies  "  discontent,"  that  is,  with  God  and  his  leadings. 
That  poor  age  was  rich  in  this  particular  (compare  chap.  vii. 

tranquilla  ac  Iseta  et  usu  bonorum  ex  favore  divino  provenientium.  Ita  tamen 
ut  memor  fluxoe  hujus  ac  lubrica;  vitae  et  imminentis  judicii  omnia  cum  rever- 
entia  summi  Numinis  peragat." 

"  Jerome  says,  "  rursum  ne  putaretur  haec  dicens  hominem  ad  luxuriam 
provocate  et  in  Epicuri  dogma  corruere,  suspicionem  banc  abstulit  inferens : 
Et  scito,  quoniam  super  omnibus  his  adducet  te  deus  in  judicium.  Sic  inquit 
abutere  mundi  rebus,  ut  scias  te  in  ultimo  judicandum." 


CHAPTER  XI.  9 XII.  1-7.  243 

9).  We  meet  with  it  also  in  the  contemporary  Malachi :  see 
chap.  iii.  1 4,  "  ye  say,  it  is  vain  to  serve  God,  and  what  profit 
is  it  that  we  keep  his  ordinances  and  walk  in  tilth  before  the 
Lord  of  hosts?"  And  put  away  evil  from  thy  body.  Dis- 
content has  the  effect,  at  the  same  time,  of  rendering  the 
body  wretched  (Psalm  vi.  8).  Schmidt  remarks,  "  afflictiones 
et  serumnas,  quae  ex  tristitia  animi  in  corpus  redundant  car- 
nemque  consumunt."  To  this  we  must  add  the  mortifications 
resorted  to  in  order  to  extort  redemption  from  God  :  compare 
the  passage  from  Malachi  just  quoted  and  Isaiah  Iviii.  3, 
"wherefore  do  we  fast,  and  thou  seest  not,  wherefore  do  we 
afflict  our  soul  and  thou  knowest  not?"  The  exhortation, 
not  wilfully  to  rob  themselves  by  dark  melancholy  of  that 
which  God  graciously  presents  to  them,  is  grounded  on  the 
consideration  that  youth,  the  time  when  men  are  most  capable 
of  enjoyment,  is  vain  and  quickly  passes  by.  nnni;',  "  the  time 
of  dawn,"  "youth,"  occurs  only  here,  and  is  a  word  that  was  pro- 
bably formed  by  the  author  himself.  This  is  rendered  probable 
by  the  preceding  term  nvh^  which  serves  as  an  explanation. 

Chap.  xii.  1.  And  remember  thy  Creator  in  the  days  of 
thy  youth.  The  Berleburger  Bible  remarks,  "  in  the  noble 
time  of  youth  turn  betimes  to  God,  and  do  not  sacrifice  its 
bloom  to  the  devil  :  do  not  devote  merely  the  dregs  of  thy 
years  to  God  and  put  off  till  late  the  work  of  conversion." 
In  order  to  be  happy,  it  is  not  enough  that  we  form  the  re- 
solution to  be  cheerful  (chap.  xi.  9),  and  to  put  away 
discontent,  (chap.  xi.  10).  With  such  a  determination,  a 
hearty  piety  must  go  hand  in  hand.  Man  could  not  be 
considered  as  bearing  the  image  of  God  if  it  were  pos- 
sible for  him  to  spend  a  joyous  existence  without  remembering 
his  Creator,  Truly  rejoice  can  he  only  who  is  in  his  time  ele- 
ment ;  and  man  is  only  in  his  true  element  when  he  gives  him- 
self up  to  devotion,  and  thus  returns  to  the  origin  and  source 
of  his  being.  To  this  must  be  added,  that  whoso  apostatizes 
from  his  Creator  becomes  necessarily  involved  in  the  divine 
judgments  ;  for  the  Lord  must  have  ins  due  from  aU  who 
bear  his  image,  either  in  their  destruction  or  their  vol- 
untary return  to  himself  Divine  condemnation  renders 
cheerfulness  impossible.  The  summons  to  "  remember  our 
Creator"  does  not  stand  in   contrast  to  that  other  one,  "  let 


244  CHAPTER  XI.  9 XII.   1-7. 

thy  heart  cheer  thee  :"  they  rather  go  hand  in  hand  with 
each  other.  Their  relation  might  be  expressed  in  this  way — 
"and  in  order  that  thou  mayest  be  able  to  rejoice,  and  to 
put  away  discontent,  remember  thy  Creatoi\"  Ewald  renders 
wrongly — "  yet  think."  The  words,  "  thy  Creator,"  give  the 
reason  why  we  should  remember.  It  is  unnatural  not  to 
think  of  Him  in  whom  we  live  and  move  and  have  our 
being ;  and  such  unnatural  conduct  brings  its  own  punish- 
ment,— misery  is  its  inseparable  companion.  In  the  Berle- 
burger  Bible  we  read,  "  When  the  Preacher  says,  '  Remember 
thy  Creator,'  it  is  more  than  if  he  had  merely  mentioned 
God.  He  indicates  quite  distinctly  the  right  that  God  has 
to  man,  the  benefits  which  God  has  conferred  on  man,  and 
man's  consequent  duty  to  recognise  and  act  according  to  his 
entire  dependence  on  God."  The  plural  in  T'^nu,  in  the  same 
way  as  that  in  "  Elohim,"  draws  attention  to  the  fulness  and 
the  wealth  of  the  divine  nature,  to  God's  majesty  and  glory. 
For  remarks  on  such  plural  designations  of  God,  (as  for  ex- 
ample, Joshua  xxiv.  19,  where  God  is  called  D''tJ^*ip,  and  Pro- 
verbs ix.  1  0),  see  chap.  v.  7.  Before  the  evil  days  come,  etc. 
What  we  are  to  understand  by  the  "  days  of  evil  or  suffer- 
ing," is  made  clear  by  the  following  verses.  They  stand  for 
a  joyless  old,  age.  If  we  fail  to  remember  our  Creator  in  youth, 
the  period  between  it  and  old  age,  the  time  when  we  are 
most  capable  of  happiness,  is  taken  up  with  misery,  and 
after  our  susceptibility  to  pleasure  has  ceased,  we  are  forced 
to  look  with  soiTow  on  a  wasted  existence.  Cartwright 
mistakes  the  right  point  of  view  when  he  says — "  before  old 
age  reaches  thee,  which  by  reason  of  numerous  weaknesses  and 
burdens  is  less  fitted  for  the  learning  or  exercise  of  piety." 
As  is  expressly  said,  age  is  here  brought  under  consideration, 
not  because  then  the  spiritual  powers  are  deadened,  but  be- 
cause it  brings  on  the  "  days  of  evil,"  because  all  joy  in  our 
earthly  existence  is  then  irrecoverably  lost  if  not  previously 
gained  possession  of — a  thing  which  is  impossible  apart  from 
the  fear  of  God.  Knobel's  observation  however  is  quite  incor- 
rect:— "that  we  must  not  connect  the  second  part  of  this  verse 
exclusively  with  the  admonition  to  fear  God,  but  more  par- 
ticularly with  the  summons  to  enjoyment  about  which  Kohe- 
leth  is  here  chiefly  concerned,  '  enjoy  thyself  before,  etc.,  but 


CHAPTER  XI.  9 XII.  7.  245 

not  in  such  a  way  that  thou  make  thyself  a  fool.'"  To  such 
\nolent  explanations  are  men  driven  who  are  incapable  of 
grasping  the  thought,  that  Jehovah  is  the  Alpha  and  Omega 
of  our  earthly  existence,  and  that  a  right  relation  to  him  is 
the  condition  and  foundation  of  all  happiness  and  all  joy.  In 
the  following  verses  a  picture  is  presented  of  a  joyless  old  age 
drawn  in  the  lively  colours  of  youth,  in  order  that  the  exhort- 
ation to  remember  the  Creator  in  the  days  of  youth  might  sink 
the  more  deeply  into  the  heart.  How  mournful  a  thing  must 
it  be  to  pass  into  the  ranks  of  those  who  are  here  described, 
without  having  tasted  of  the  feast  of  joys  prepared  by  the 
Creator  for  all  those  who  remember  Him. 

Ve7\  2.  In  the  first  half  of  this  verse,  age  is  brought  for- 
ward as  the  time  when  sun,  moon,  and  stars  become  dark. 
The  lights  of  heaven  really  shine  only  for  the  hapjyy.  When 
the  eye  is  no  longer  sunlike,  the  sun  is,  as  it  were,  gone 
down.  For  this  reason  in  Old  Testament  delineations  of  ad- 
versity we  so  often  read  of  the  destruction  of  the  heavenly 
lights.  Isaiah,  for  example,  when  describing  in  chap.  v.  30, 
the  heavy  sufferings  which  were  about  to  fall  upon  the  land 
because  of  its  alienation  from  God,  says — "  the  light  is  dark- 
ened in  the  heavens  thereof"  Jeremiah  in  chap.  iv.  88,  pic- 
turing the  judgments  which  threatened  Judah,  says,  "  I  beheld 
the  earth,  and  lo,  it  was  without  form  and  void,  and  the 
heavens  they  had  no  lights :"  (compare  Ezekiel  xxxii.  7,  8  ; 
Amos  viii.  9,  10;  Micah  iii.  6;  Revelations  vi.  12.)  With 
the  sun  is  connected  "  the  light,"  the  Scripture  symbol  of  sal- 
vation and  happiness,  for  the  purpose  of  indicating  why  the 
sun,  moon,  and  stars  are  introduced,  and  what  is  their  signi- 
ficance. In  the  second  half  of  the  verse,  age  appears  as  the 
time  when  clouds  return  after  rain,  that  is,  when  one  trouble 
succeeds  to  the  other.  Dark  clouds  are  often  used  as  an  image 
of  troubles  :  so  also  rain  in  Ezekiel  xiii.  11-18  ;  xxxviii.  22  ; 
Song  of  Solomon  ii.  11.  Luther  observes  that,  "the  Holy 
Scriptures  call  consolation  and  prosperity,  light,  and  troubles, 
darkness  or  night.  The  author  means  therefore  to  say — before 
the  age  comes  when  neither  sun  nor  stars  shall  shine  on  thee, 
when  the  clouds  shall  return  after  rain,  that  is,  when  one 
trouble  shall  follow  on  the  heels  of  another.  For  young  boys, 
for  young  men,  for  men  who  are  in  the  very  prime  of  life. 


246  CHAPTER  XL  9, XII.  7. 

there  is  still  a  measure  of  joy :  in  their  case  it  is  still  a  fact 
that,  after  rain  comes  beautiful  sunshine;  that  is,  in  other 
words,  although  they  have  times  of  trouble,  they  have  also 
again  days  of  joy  and  consolation.  But  age  has  no  joy  : 
clouds  come  after  the  rain  :  one  misfortune  succeeds  another, 
one  storm  follows  another."  The  power  to  suffer  is  exhausted 
in  old  age,  the  heart  is  already  broken :  that  is  however  not 
the  only  consideration  here :  God's  will  is  to  melt  down  his  own 
people  completely  before  the  end  of  life,  and  to  give  to  the 
wicked  a  foretaste  of  hell.  That  which  is  here  said  of  age  in 
general,  holds  especially  good  of  the  age  of  the  godless,  which 
the  author  had  principally  in  view.*  It  did  not,  however, 
accord  with  his  purpose,  to  mention,  that  as  the  lights  of  this 
world  grow  dark,  the  celestial  divine  light  shines  all  the  more 
brightly  on  a  godly  old  age.-f- 

Ver.  3.  The  body  in  which  the  spirit  dwells  is  elsewhere, 
also,  represented  under  the  image  of  a  house  :  (see  Job  iv.  19; 
2  Corinthians  v.  1.)  The  watchmen  of  the  house  are  the 
cn^ms,  by  which  everything  inimical  and  destructive  is  warded 
of  J?1f  in  kal  occurs  only  here  and  in  Esther  v.  9  :  in  the 
Chaldee  it  is  frequently  used.  The  strong  men  are  the  feet. 
These  are  inti'oduced  as  the  seat  of  the  strength  of  a  man,  also 
in  Psalm  cxlvii.  1 0,  "  he  delighteth  not  in  the  streng-th  of  a 
horse,  he  hath  no  pleasure  in  the  legs  of  a  man," — and  in  their 
strength, — as  we  may  add,  supplementing  from  the  first  clause 
of  the  verse.  The  millers,  (feminine,)  or  the  grinders,  are  the 
teeth.  The  feminine  form  was  chosen  because  grinding  (with 
the  handmill)  was  usually  an  occupation  of  women,  (Exodus 
xi.  5  ;  Isaiah  xlvii.  2.)  The  teeth  nnake  holiday  or  cease,  that 
is,  are  no  longer  able  to  fulfil  their  task,  because  they  have 
become  few  :  if  they  are  to  be  properly  active,  their  number 
must  be  full.  bli2  as  a  Hebrew  word,  "  to  cease  to  make  holi- 
day," occurs  only  in  this  place :    in  Aramaic  it  is  frequently 

*  Cartwright  says,  "  quod  quidera,  ut  fere  senibus  omnibus  evenit,  ita  potis- 
simum  his,  qui  luxu  et  libidine  jnventutem  transegerunt.  Effoetum  enim  corpus 
et  nauseabundum  senectuti  tradunt :  ita  ut  in  illis  pluviam  excipiat  nubes,  nu- 
bem  grando,  grandinem  gelu,  donee  eum  deus  ad  barathrum  condemnationis 
detruserit. 

t  Cartwright  observes,  "  tametsi  visibilis  sol  illis  occidit,  tamen  sol  justitise 
Christus  illorum  in  animis  adolescentiie  exoriens,  in  senectuti  altior  in  hujua 
vitse  hemispherio  assurgens,  lumen  suum  duplicabit.    Prov.  iv.  18." 


CHAPTER  xr.  9, XL  7.  247 

found,  (see  for  example,  Ezra  iv.  24.)  The  Piel  of  Bjfc  is  only- 
used  here,  and  that  with  an  intransitive  meaning.  The  Piel 
denotes  enhancement,  very  few.  Those  that  look  out  of  the 
windows,  are  the  eyes.  Hitzig  remarks,  "as  at  first,  two 
masculines,  which  in  conception  belong  to  each  other,  namely, 
arms  and  legs,  are  connected ;  so  in  the  next  place,  two  femi- 
nines,  to  wit,  teeth  and  eyes  ;  as  also  in  portions  of  the  law, 
(Exodus  xxi.  24  ;  Deuteronomy  xix.  21,)  eyes  and  teeth,  hands 
and  feet,  are  co-ordinated  with  each  other." 

Ver.  4.  By  the  doors  in  the  streets,  some  organ  must  here 
be  designated,  which  is  the  medium  of  intercourse  with  the 
external  world, — one,  too,  which  is  divided  into  two  parts,  as 
is  clear  from  the  use  of  the  dual  wrhx  The  mention  of  the 
eyes,  which  goes  immediately  before,  would  at  once  suggest 
the  thought  of  ears  .•  this  moreover  suits  admirably  the  con- 
nection with  the  voice — "  in  that  the  voice  of  the  mill  becomes 
weak" — they  are  less  able  to  hear,  and  to  make  themselves 
intelligible.  According  to  others,  the  mouth  is  intended,  and 
the  dual  form  DTi^T  is  chosen  with  reference  to  the  two  lips — 
a  form  which  is  used  also  of  the  jaws  of  the  Leviathan  in  Job 
xH.  6.  See  the  Berleburger  Bible,  where  we  read — "  through 
the  mouth  man's  heart  goes  forth  and  is  seen  and  known  by- 
means  of  what  he  utters."  The  image  of  doors  is  used  also  of 
the  mouth  in  Micah  vii.  5,  "  preserve  the  doors  of  thy  mouth." 
On  this  view  the  words,  "  in  that  the  voice  of  the  mill  becojnes 
weak,"  would  assign  the  reason  for  the  closing  of  the  doors,  as 
much  as  to  say,  "  they  scarcely  open  the  mouth  any  more  be- 
cause it  has  become  difiicult  for  them  to  speak."  But  it  is 
more  appropriate  to  apply  the  description  being  shut  to  that 
hardness  of  hearing,  which  is  so  characteristic  of  old  age 
that  it  can  scarcely  be  absent.  If  the  teeth  are  the  grinders, 
the  mouth  must  be  the  mill  >StJ'  is  Infin.  nominasc.  from 
7aK>,  "  to  be  low  ; "  signifying  when  used  of  the  voice,  to  be, 
as  it  were,  depressed,  deadened,  weak.  The  subject  in  Dip"'  is 
"  the  old  man,"  who  is  spoken  of  in  the  context.  He  rises  at 
the  voice  of  the  bird,  so  soon  as  the  birds  begin  to  sing,  that 
is,  very  early  in  the  morning  :    age  has  no  sleep.*     The  men- 

*  Cartwright  says,  "  summo  mane,  quum  avicularum  cantillationes  incipiunt, 
iiTequietus  senex,  somni  expers,  membra  levabit  thoro,  ceteraj  etiam  familiae 


248  CHAPTER  XI.  9, XII.  7. 

tion  of  the  "  voice  of  the  bird"  suggests  the  remark,  that  the 
old  man  has  even  lost  all  capacity  for,  and  pleasure  in  song ; 
a  remark  which  coincides  with  2  Samuel  xix.  35,  where  Bar- 
zillai  says  to  David — "  can  thy  servant  still  taste  what  I  eat 
or  drink,  can  I  hear  any  more  the  voice  of  singing  men  and 
singing  women?"  The  term  "daughter"  is  used  to  designate 
that  which  belongs  to  a  thing  :  for  example,  the  daughters  of 
Rabbah,  in  Jeremiah  xlix.  2,  are  the  places  which  belong  to 
Rabbah.  Here  accordingly  the  qualities  which  belong  to  song, 
the  singing  qualities,  are  personified  as  the  daughters  of  song : 
Aquila,  'xavra  TO.  rr^i  uj^ni. 

Ver.  5.  A  Iso — to  mention  this  further  characteristic  of  their 
miserable  condition — they  are  afraid  of  everything  which  is 
high,  and  terrors  are  in  the  way.  Wliere  there  is  little  strength 
every  height  is  dreadful,  and  defenceless  impotence  sees  terrors 
wherever  it  goes  and  stands.  And  the  almond  tree  blooms. 
That  the  almond  tree  is  here  used  as  a  symbol  of  that  watch- 
fulness with  which  old  age  is  visited,  is  suggested  even  by  the 
etymology,  ^p!i',  originally  the  name  of  the  tree,  not  of  the 
fruit,  to  which,  strictly  viewed,  it  is  inappropriate,  and  can 
therefore  be  only  secondarily  applied,  is  a  poetical  designation 
of  the  almond  :  the  real  name  in  natural  history  is  ti^.  It  is 
called  properly  the  "waking  tree,"  because  it  first  awakes 
from  the  sleep  of  winter.  Theophrastus  says  in  Hist.  Plant. 
i.  ]  5,  of  the  alum  tree,  'Trpul  jSXaaTdvu.f  To  this  we  may 
add  that  in  Jeremiah  i.  11,  the  almond  tree  is  in  like  manner 
employed  as  a  symbol  of  watching  : — that  passage  may  be  re- 
garded as  commentary  to  the  present  verse.  Why  mention  is 
made  of  blooming,  Pliny  teaches  us  in  the  Hist.  Nat.  16, 
25  :  according  to  him,  the  almond  tree  blossoms  first  of  all 
trees, — "  floret  prima  omnium  amygdala  mense  Januari.o" 
According  to  the  explanation  just  given,  which  is  adopted  by  the 
Septuagint,  (xal  avd/isrj  to  d/j^vyBaXov,)  by  the  Vulgate,  (et  florebit 
amygdalus,)  and  by  the  Syriac,  r^P.J  is  the  Hiphil  form,  and 
from  fi3,  which  is  used  in  the  sense  of  "blossom,"  even  in  the 


quietem  turbans.     Nam  uti  intempestivus  somnns,  ita  et  intempestiva  vigilia 
comites  aut  sequelic  senectutis  sunt." 

*  Gesenius.     "Tpj**  amygdala  arbor,  ita  dicta,  quod  om.nium  arborum  prima 
e  somno  hiberno  expergiscitur  et  velut  vigil  ceteris  plantis  advigilat." 


CHAPTER  XI.   9. XII.  7.  249 

the  Song  of  Solomon,  (see  chap.  vi.  1 1  ;  vii.  1 3.)  These  pas- 
sages agree  too  closely  with  the  present  verse  to  permit  of  a 
separation  between  them.  To  the  blossoming  pomegTanite 
trees  there,  corresponds  the  blossoming  almond  tree  here.  We 
need  not  be  surprised  at  the  k  which  has  been  interpolated  : 
it  is  found  elsewhere  in  the  usage  of  a  latter  period,  (see 
Ewald,  §  83  c.)  Objections  which  have  been  raised,  do  not 
touch  the  explanation  in  itself,  but  only  the  false  turn  given 
to  it  when  the  blossoming  almond  tree  is  made  to  represent 
the  grey  hair  of  old  men.  In  such  a  case,  there  is  of  course 
the  plain  objection,  that  the  blossom  of  the  almond  tree  is 
not  white.  According  to  others,  fxj^  is  the  Hiphil  future  of 
I^W,  "to  despise  :"  the  toothless  old  man  despises  the  pleasant 
tasted  almond.  But  even  as  regards  the  form,  there  are  diffi- 
culties in  the  way  of  this  explanation  ; — for  example,  the 
vowel  point  Kametz  ;  and  the  Hiphil,  which  occurs  nowhere 
else  :* — besides,  the  meaning  of  the  verb  yi^:  does  not  suit,  for 
J'W  is  not  a  simple  refusal,  but  one  connected  with  scorn  and 
contempt.  To  this  we  may  add,  that  the  thought  is  rather 
too  far-fetched.  And  the  locust  sJioivs  itself  trouhlesoTne. 
hnn,  "  to  press  heavily  on  any  one,"  in  Piel,  (which  does  not 
occtir,)  "to  lay  a  burden  on  any  one;"  (Pual  is  used  in  Psalm 
cxliv.  ]  4,)  and  in  Hithpael,  "to  show  oneself  burdensome,  to  be 
troublesome,"  (compare  Gesenius'  Thesaurus.)  Locusts  must  not 
be  taken  here,  as  Gesenius  and  others  take  them,  in  their  proper 
sense,  viz.,  in  the  sense  of  an  excellent  species  of  food,  which  the 
old  man  must  renounce  because  he  is  no  longer  able  to  bear  it.f 
For  locusts  were  in  any  circumstances  but  poor  nutriment,  taken 
onlyby  those  who  either  had  no  other,  orwished  to  mortify  them- 
selves ;  and  then  the  expression,  "  become  burdensome  or 
troublesome,"  would  be  out  of  place.  The  locust  must  rather  be 
emploj^ed  figuratively,  in  correspondence  with  the  predominantly 


♦Hitzigis  obliged  to  confess  that  the  form  as  it  hereliesbefore  lis  cannotbe  derived 
from  J^X3 — "  the  pointing  is  without  doubt  not  intended  for  the  Hiphil  of  t>X3j 
(that  is  for  y^i  instead  of  wj^y)  which  never  occurs  elsewhere,  but  for  the 
Hiphil  of  |»^{3,  to  wit,  J>y,  as  was  also  the  view  of  the  authors  of  the  versions 
led  astray  by  npt>>  itself,  (compare  Numbers  xvii.  23.)" 

t  Molestaestseni  locusta,  quia  aegre  ab  illomanducaturet  concoquitur,  quan- 
quam  grati  sapori^ 


250  CHAPTER  XI.  9. XII.  7. 

symbolical  character  of  the  entire  description.  If  this  is  the  case, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  sense.  The  most  prominent 
characteristic  of  locusts,  is  "  devouring  ;"  compare  2  Chronicles 
vii.  13,  "I  command  the  locusts,  (3an,  as  here,)  to  devour  the 
land."  For  this  reason,  wherever  locusts  are  alluded  to  in  a 
figurative  sense  in  the  Scriptures,  they  designate  hostile  rav- 
ages and  destruction.  Here  accordingly  we  must  understand  by 
them,  the  forces  hostile  to  life,  which  consume  it  especially  in  old 
age.  And  desire  faileth  :  Luther  gives  the  sense  accurately 
as  follows,  "  an  old  man  has  pleasure  in  nothing."  ruV3S  from 
nns,  "  to  wish,  to  will,"  occurs  nowhere  else,  but  still  the  deri- 
vation is  quite  legitimate.  To  be  rejected,  is  the  limitation 
to  one  particular  kind  of  desire.*  The  explanation,  "  caper," 
although  widely  spread,  must  still  be  characterised  as  without 
foundation.-f-  The  fact  that  some  old  translations  have  hit 
upon  it,  (the  Septuagint,  for  example,  which  was  followed  by 
the  SjTiac  and  the  Vulgate,)  offers  no  sure  support  for  it.  It 
has  been  sought,  but  in  vain,  to  draw  confirmations  of  this 
usage  from  the  Talmud  and  the  Rabbins.:]:  **  Appetitus,  con- 
cupiscentia,"  which  is  the  simplest  explanation,  suits  the  con- 
text admirably,  and  is  recommended  also  by  the  parallel 
expression  of  Barzillai, — "  can  I  still  distinguish  between  good 
and  evil,  can  I  taste  what  I  eat  and  drink,  etc.?"  The  Hip- 
hil  form  of  "iiQ  signifies  elsewhere  always  "  to  reduce  to  nought, 
to  destroy,"  and  must  not  therefore  here  without  further 
reasons  be  rendered,  "  become  nought."  Desire  refusing  its 
services,  reduces  the  enjoyments  to  nought,  which  it  might 
have  afforded  us.  For  man  goeth  to  his  eternal  home; 
and  of  that  all  these  things  are  forerunners — they  are  symp- 
toms that  life  is  shortly  to  cease. || 

The  eternal  house  can  only  be  the  grave,  out  of  which 
there  is  never  a  return  to  this  earthly  life :  compare  Job  vii 

*  So  the  Chaldee,  "  prohibeberis  a  concubitu;"  correctly  on  the  contrary  the 
Greek  Venet.,  craiffjj  ri  opiB'?-  Abulvalid  renders,  "cessabitconcupiscentia;" 
Kabbi  Parchon  explains  the  word  by  mxn. 

t  Gesenius,  "et  irrita  erit  capparis,  i.  e.,  vim  amplius  habebit  capparis,  neqne 
in  cibi  desiderio  movendo,  neque  in  Veneris  concupiscentia  provocanda." 

X  Compare  for  a  contrary  view,  Winzer's  Comra.  on  xi.  9, — xii.  7,  in  the 
"  Comm.  Theol."  of  Rosenmiiller,  Fuldner  and  Maurer  i,  1,  p.  95. 

II  Geier,  "  nee  mirum  est  omnem  evanescere  appetitum,  quia  abit  et  raagis 
magisque  sensim  occidit  ejusmodi  homo." 


CHAPTER  XI.  9. XII.  7.  251 

10,  "he  will  not  return  to  his  house,  nor  will  his  place  know 
him  again."  We  find  the  same  expression  used  of  it  in  Tobias 
iii.  6,  also.  A7id  the  mourners  go  about  in  the  streets.  id3D 
is  the  preter.  jproph.  That  which  is  impending  in  the  im- 
mediate future  is  anticipated  in  spirit.  \Vliat  is  said  here  is 
equivalent  to,  "they  will  soon  go  about  in  the  streets."  The 
reference  is  to  the  mournings  which  took  place  at  funerals, 
(compare  Amos  v.  16.) 

Ver.  6.  Before  the  silver  cord  he  removed.  The  words 
are  connected  with  the  admonition  at  the  commencement  of  the 
chapter,  "remember  thy  Creator."  The  cord  denotes  the 
thread  of  life,  the  continuity  of  existence.  That  the  cord  is 
of  silver  is  a  sign  that  life  is  a  noble  possession:  compare 
chap  xi.  7,  "sweet  is  the  light,  and  pleasant  is  it  for  the  eyes 
to  see  the  sun.""^^  The  Niphal  form  of  pm  "to  become  far" 
is  never  used.  As  invariably  happens  in  such  cases,  the 
vowels  belong  to  the  marginal  reading.  We  must  read  P'lT^ 
"removed  afar  off,  departed,"  Qonge  recessit,  discessit.)  The 
Masoretic  conjecture  is  the  less  to  be  trusted  as  the  meaning, 
"be  broken,"  ascribed  to  pmj,  is  by  no  means  certain.  The 
verb  which  signifies  "to  bind,  to  enchain,"  cannot,  in  Niphal, 
which  otherwise  never  occurs,  mean  "to  be  unchained,  torn 
loose,"  as  Ewald  would  have  it.  pm,  "to  remove,"  and  pn  "to 
run,  to  haste  away,"  correspond  admirably  to  each  other. — 
And  the  golden  howl  haste  away.  Many  interpreters  con- 
sider that  pi  here  stands  for  )^n,  "till  the  golden  bowl  be 
broken,"  Septuagint,  xa/  swrpilSfi  to  uv&simov  tov  xP^a'm.  Else- 
where, however,  the  spheres  of  both  the  verbs  pn  and  yr\ 
remain  distinct.  Even  in  Isaiah  xlii.  4,  pi  retains  its  mean- 
ing "run,"  (compare  my  Christology  on  that  passage.)  The 
former  of  the  two  verbs  always  signifies  elsewhere  "to  break," 
never  "to  be  broken."  pi  "to  run,  to  escape,"  forms  quite  a 
suitable  parallel  with  pm  "to  become  far;"  so  also  in  the 
second  half  of  the  verse  p3  "to  be  beaten  to  pieces"  with  nnti'J 
"  to  be  broken."  The  use  of  p3  immediately  after  shows 
that  pn  may  not  be  refeiTed  back  to  y^i,  for  the  recurrence 
of  the  same  verb  would  be  awkward,      rhi  means  properly 

*  Jerome  says,  "  funiculus  autem  argenti  caudidam  banc  vitam  et  spiramen 
quod  nobis  de  coilo  tribuitur,  ostendit." 


252  CHAPTER  XI.  9, XII.  7. 

"source,"  and  is  equivalent  to  7i  in  the  Song  of  Solomon  iv. 
12.  It  is  used  in  the  same  manner  in  Joshua  xv.  19, 
and  Judges  i.  1 5.  Then  in  Zeehariah  iv.  3  it  denotes  the 
reservoir  out  of  which  the  oil  flows  into  the  seven  lamps  of 
the  candlestick,  (the  masculine  form  ^a  in  chap.  iv.  2  is  chosen 
only  on  account  of  the  sufiix.)  On  that  passage  in  Zeehariah, 
is  based,  as  it  would  seem,  the  one  now  under  notice.  Cor- 
responding with  the  "cord,"  life,  now,  as  the  ground  and 
source  of  all  particular  manifestations  thereof,  is  represented 
under  the  image  of  an  oil-bowl.  Four  figurative  designations 
of  life  are  connected  together  in  this  verse.  In  the  passage 
adduced  from  Zeehariah  the  remark  was  made,  "that  the 
candlesticks  being  entirely  of  the  noblest  metal,  namely  of 
gold,  indicates  the  glory  of  the  church."  Here  also  we  are 
taught  that  the  life  which  God  has  adorned  with  such  noble 
gifts,  and  to  which  he  has  appointed  such  high  tasks,  is  a 
noble  possession,  in  that  the  oil-bowl  is  described  as  being 
golden.  A  nd  the  pitcher  is"brohen  to  pieces  at  the  well.  The 
pitcher  is  the  image  of  individual  life,  the  well  is  the  image 
of  the  general  life.  Hitzig  justly  compares  with  this  the 
drawing  of  breath,  although  that  is  not  the  whole,  but  only 
one  single  act,  by  which  we  take  to  ourselves  something  out 
of  the  great  general  treasure  from  which  all  individuals  are 
supplied  with  that  which  is  necessary  to  their  subsistence. 
And  the  wheel  is  hrohen  to  pieces  at  the  cistern.  The  cistern, 
or  fountain,  is  the  world.  Life  is  represented  under  the  image 
of  a  wheel  because  of  its  rapid  motion.*  In  James  iii.  6  it  is 
said  of  the  tongue,  55  CxtXoxisa  oKijv  to  (rw,aa,  y.ai  fXoyi^ovfta  rbv 
rpo^ov  rrjg  yivsasojg-  The  first  words  are  based  on  chap.  v.  5  of 
this  book,  "Let  not  thy  mouth  make  thy  flesh  sinful:"  the 
second  clause,  referring  back  to  the  present  verse,  represents 
life  under  the  image  of  a  wheel,  (ysvBffig,  Bengel,  "constitutio 
naturalis,"  i.  23  et  vita,  compare  Judith  xii.  19;  Tuaag  rug 
7i/j,spag  Ti^g  yivioiug  fjuov,  Schneckenburger  on  the  passage.)  If 
the  pitcher  is  one  day  inevitably  to  be  broken  at  the  well, 
and  the  wheel  to  be  beaten  to  pieces  at  the  cistern,  it  surely 
behoves  us  to  seek  earnestly  and  betimes  for  such  a  founda- 

•  ?J?J)  Gesenius,  "res  volubilis,  quse  cito  et  continue  volvitur." 


CHAPTER  XL  9. XII.  7.  253 

tion  of  our  life  as  shall  not  be  subjected  to  such  changes* 
The  fear  of  death  is  legitimate  so  long  as  we  have  not  reached 
this  aim.  The  Berleburger  Bible  says,  "the  author  having 
described  here  the  accidents  which  precede  death,  and  at  the 
same  time  death  itself:  in  the  following  verse  he  informs  us 
what  will  become  of  body  and  soul  after  death." 

Ver.  7.  The  dust,  that  is,  as  the  Berleburger  Bible  remarks, 
"this  earthly  body,  which  is  so  called  in  order  to  show  partly 
its  origin,  and  partly  also  its  weakness  and  littleness." 
Allusion  is  made  to  Genesis  iii.  19,  "till  thou  return  to  the 
earth,  for  from  it  wast  thou  taken,  for  dust  thou  art  and  unto 
dust  shalt  thou  return."  Tliis  passage  contains  only  part  of 
the  truth.  Its  design  was  to  humble  man  to  the  dust,  who 
wished  to  be  equal  with  God:  hence,  of  the  two  sides  of 
which  his  nature  is  constituted,  only  the  one,  the  earthly  side, 
is  specially  mentioned.  According  to  Genesis  ii.  7,  there  is 
in  man  a  divine  element,  a  breath  from*  God,  alongside  of  the 
earthly.  Chap.  i.  26  teaches  that  man  is  created  in  God's 
image,  in  distinction  from  all  the  rest  of  creation.  In  this 
aspect  of  his  being  he  cannot  be  subjected  to  destruction,  he 
must  participate  in  the  imperishableness  of  God.  Wlien  the 
author  says,  that  the  spirit  returns  to  God  who  gave  it,  he 
advances  nothing  new,  he  does  but  complement  Genesis  iii. 
]  9  from  the  two  passages  just  adduced.  That  the  spirit  of 
man  does  not  perish  with  the  body  is  here,  in  agi'eement  with 
chap.  iii.  2,  (compare  also  chap.  iii.  11,)  most  decidedly  taught. 
Conscious,  however,  of  the  boundary  lines  separating  the  pro- 
ductions of  "wisdom"  from  the  outpourings  of  prophecy,  he 
does  not  enter  further  on  the  question.f  An  earnest  mode 
of  looking  at  sin  and  guilt,  such  as  is  characteristic  of  the 
entire  Old  Testament,  and  especially  of  this  present  book,  does 
not  tolerate  the  notion  of  a  pantheistic  diffusion  and  absorp- 
tion of  the  soul,  which  rationalistic  interpreters  find  in  this 
passage.^      Such  foolish  thoughts  can  only  be  cherished  by 

*  Cartwright,  "danda  igitur  opera  ut  ipse  salientem  in  se  et  perennem  aquam 
habeat,  quic  ilium  recreet,  cum  nee  hydria,  nee  rota  sibi  consulere  possit." 

t  These  limits  are  mistaken  by  Winzer  -when  he  remarks,  "si  spes,  quam  nos 
foremus  Itetissimam,  EcclesiastiE,  adfulsisset,  non  obiter  ipse  tetegisset  et  verbis 
ambiguis  notasset  rem  maxinii  momenti." 

X  Hitzig,  "That  this  particle  of  the  divine  breath  poured  out  by  God  into  the 
world  and  separated  to  an  individual  existence,  will  be  drawn  back  again  to  its 


254  CHAPTER  XL  9. XII.  7. 

those  who  think  lightly  of  sin.  Those  terrible  words  in 
Deuteronomy  xxvii.  26,  "cursed  be  he  that  keepeth  not  all  the 
words  of  this  law  to  do  them,"  should  effectually  prevent  them 
rising  within  us.  The  doctrine  of  the  Old  Testament  is  that 
righteousness  and  sin  stamp  an  indelible  character  on  the  soul. 
It  is  impossible  that  the  distinction  between  the  righteous 
and  the  wicked,  so  emphatically  insisted  on,  should  at  once 
be  reduced  to  nought  in  the  moment  of  death.  Against  such 
a  view  is  decisive,  moreover,  the  piercing  seriousness  with 
which  the  future  judgment  is  announced  everywhere,  and 
especially  in  this  book.  On  all  these  grounds,  and  on  the 
ground,  finally,  of  the  emphasis  laid  on  that  retributive  work 
of  God  with  whose  mention  in  verse  1 4  the  whole  book  ter- 
minates, the  return  of  the  soul  to  God  can  only  be  such  an 
one  as  that  of  which  the  apostle  speaks  in  2  Corinthians  v. 
10,  "for  we  must  all  appear  before  the  judgment  seat  of 
Christ,  that  every  on^  may  receive  the  things  done  in  the 
body,  according  to  that  he  hath  done  whether  it  be  good  or 
bad;"  compare  Romans  xiv.  10,  "for  we  shall  all  stand  before 
the  judgment  seat  of  Christ;"  and  Hebrews  ix,  27,  "it  is 
appointed  unto  men  once  to  die,  and  after  death  the  judg- 
ment." After  its  departure  the  soul  must  present  itself  before 
Him  from  whom  it  had  its  origin,  to  receive  from  him  its 
judgment.  The  Chaldee  paraphrases  the  Hebrew  as  follows, 
"et  spiritus  animse  redibit,  ut  stet  in  judicio  coram  deo,  qui 
dedit  ilium  tibi."  That  is  the  Israelitish  view.  The  other 
is  a  Japhetism  of  Bunsen's.  Only  on  the  view  adopted  by 
the  Church,  not  on  that  of  the  Rationahsts,  has  the  passage 
the  significance  which  is  called  for  by  the  context.  No  other 
meaning  than  this,  "that  the  soul  must  one  day  return  to 
God  as  its  judge,"  is  fitted  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  admoni- 
tion, "remember  thy  Creator,"  which  is  the  main  feature  of 
this  entire  section.  Remember  thy  Creator,  in  order  that  thou 
mayest  not  have  to  bewail  a  misspent  earthly  existence  when 
it  is  too  late  for  remedy,  and  then  after  death  come  into 
judgment.*     Tho  Berleburger  Bible  says,  "precisely  for  this 

source  and  so  be  united  once  more  with  God's  breath,  which  is  the  soul  of  the 
world." 

*  Cartwright  says,  "illudjuvenes  cautos  et  consnltos  reddat,  quod  illico  ex 
bac  vita  migrantes  apud  judicem  suum  sistentur,  ibi  accepturi  prout  se  gesserint." 


CHAPTER  XI.   9. XII.  7.  255 

reason  should  a  man  consider  well  how  he  lives  and  acts  here, 
seeing  that,  do  what  he  will,  he  cannot  avoid  appearing  before 
God.  Souls  come  out  of  eternity  into  this  world  as  on  to  a 
theatre.  There  they  exhibit  their  persons,  their  affections, 
their  passions,  that  which  they~  's  of  evil  and  good  in  them. 
When  they  have  as  it  were  acted  out  their  parts,  they  are 
forced  to  retire,  to  lay  off  the  person  in  which  they  presented 
themselves,  and  to  go  naked,  just  as  they  are,  before  God  for 
judgment.  All  men  are  convinced  enough  in  their  conscience 
that  they  cannot  remain  thus  in  their  own  nature,  and  that 
they  cannot  escape  from,  or  pass  by,  God  when  they  die,  as 
the  ungodly  would  fain  do,  being  anxious  even  for  the  moun- 
tains and  hills  to  cover  them,  if  they  can  but  remain  without 
God.  But,  willing  or  unwilling,  we  shall  all  infallibly  fall 
into  the  hands  of  our  Creator.  And  one  may  see  clearly  that 
the  greatest  labour  and  anxiety  of  dying  men  arises  from 
their  feeUng  that  they  are  on  the  way  to  God.  How  the 
whole  man  trembles  and  shakes  1  Especially  when  he  dare 
not  comfort  himself  with  the  hope  of  a  reconciled  approach ! 
There  is  no  exception  to  the  declaration,  that  all  men  must 
return  to  God,  but  still  there  is  a  great  distinction  amongst 
them.  Most  men  return  to  God  as  to  their  insulted  Lord : 
some,  however,  as  to  a  gracious  and  compassionate  friend  and 
father.  Inasmuch,  then,  as  our  coming  to  God  is  certain  and 
unavoidable,  we  should  make  it  our  first,  as  it  is  our  most 
needed  care,  to  see  to  it  every  moment  that  we  be  able  to 
come  unto  God  in  a  right  manner."  Much  importance  has 
been  attached  to  this  verse  in  connection  with  disputes  con- 
cerning the  origin  of  the  soul.  If  the  soul  returns  to  God, 
such  was  the  conclusion  drawn  by  the  advocates  of  Creation- 
ism,  it  must  owe  its  origin  to  God  and  not  to  its  human 
parents.*  The  defenders  of  Traducianism  answer,  that  the 
return  of  the  soul  to  God  has  relation  to  the  creation  of  the 
first  man.f     This  reply,  however,  can  scarcely  be  regarded  as 

*  Jerome  says,  "  ex  quo  satis  ridendi,  qui  putant  animas  cum  corporibus  seri, 
et  non  a  deo,  sed  a  corporum  parentibus  generari.  Quum  enim  caro  revertatur 
in  terram  et  spiritus  redeat  ad  Deum,  qui  dedit  ilium;  manifestura  est,  Deum 
parentem  animarum  esse,  non  homines." 

t  Cartwright,  "hoc  dico,  eos  qui  ex  hoc  loco  conantur  traducem  evertere, 
fnndamento  parum  firmo  niti.    Nan?  liquidum  est  Eeclesiasten  ad  protoplasti 


256  CHAPTEJ^XII.  8-14. 

satisfactoiy. '  The  return  of  the  individual  soul  to  God  is  only 
satisfactorily  accounted  for  on  the  view  of  Creationism,  that  it 
owes  its  origin  directly  to  God.  As  far  then  as  this  passage  is 
concerned,  Creationism  is  in  the  right,  although,  an  exami- 
nation of  the  weighty  reasons  advanced  in  favour  of  Traduci- 
anism  must  convince  us  that  it  only  gives  a  part  of  the  truth. 
The  right  course  is  to  combine  and  reconcile  the  two  apparently 
opposed  theories. 

CHAPTER  XII.  8-14. 

We  have  here  the  Epilog-ue  of  the  book.  At  the  com- 
mencement (ver.  8),  and  at  the  close  (ver.  13,  14)  the  sum 
and  substance  of  the  book  is  set  before  us  in  a  very  con- 
densed and  vigorous  form.  This  epitome  serves  at  the  same 
time  as  a  standard  and  test  for  the  interpretation  of  the  pre- 
vious portions.  In  the  middle  a  recommendation  is  given  of 
the  book  as  containing  wisdom  offered  by  God  to  the  Church, 
and  as  sharing,  along  with  the  other  sacred  writings,  that 
all-pervading  power  which  proceeds  from  inspiration  (ver.  9, 
11);  then  we  find  an  admonition  to  the  faithful  use  of  those 
edifying  truths  and  considerations  which  are  set  before  men 
in  this  and  the  other  sacred  writings,  together  with  a  warn- 
ing against  a  too  deep  study  of  worldly  literature  (ver.  1 2). 

Ver.  8.  Vanity  of  vanities,  said  Koheleth,  all  is  vanity. 
Ver.  9.  And  there  yet  remains,  that  Koheleth  tvas  a  wise 
man,  he  taught  also  the  people  wisdom,  and  gave  heed  and 
sought  out  and  set  in  order  many  ^arables.  Ver.  1 0.  Kohe- 
leth sought  to  find  out  acceptable  words,  and  uprightness  was 
vjritten,  words  of  truth.  Ver.  1 1.  The  words  of  the  wise  are  as 
goads,  and  as  nails  driven  in  are  those  who  take  ptart  in  the 
collection:  they  were  given  by  one  shepherd.  Ver.  12.  And 
further,  my  son,  receive  instruction  from  them :  of  making 
many  hooks  there  is  no  end,  and  much  eagerness  is  a  tveari- 
ness  to  the  flesh.  Ver.  1 3.  Let  us  hear  the  conclusion  of  the 
discourse,  the  whole  matter :  fear  God  and  keep  his  commands; 
for  this  (^is  the  duty  of)  all  men.      Ver.  1 4.  For  every  ivork 

formationem  respicere,  cum  Deus  animam  inspiravit  Adamo,  sicut  ex  corporis 
figmento  apparet,  c^uod  ex  terra  exstitisse  dicitur." 


CHAPTER  XII.  8-14.  257 

sliall  God  bring  into  the  judgment  on  every  secret  thing, 
whether  it  be  good  or  tvhether  it  be  evil. 

Ver.  8.  The  correspondence  between  this  verse  and  the 
commencement  of  the  book  (chap.  i.  2)  shows  that  it  is  not 
to  be  connected  with  the  preceding  section,  but  is  to  be  set 
at  the  head  of  the  conclusion.  There  is,  however,  of  course  a 
certain  connection  between  it  and  the  close  of  the  preceding 
section.  If  our  earthly  existence  comes  to  the  end  described 
in  ver.  7  it  is  vanity,  and  true  good  may  not  be  sought  in 
it.*  This  one  sentence  does  not  give  us  the  quintessence  of 
the  entire  book,  for  it  contains  many  things  which  cannot  be 
classed  under  such  a  head,  and  Knobel  is  quite  wrong  in  say- 
ing that  "  the  theme  of  the  whole  book  is  the  assertion  of  the 
vanity  of  human  life  and  struggles."  What  we  have  here  is 
a  single  thought  of  prominent  importance,  which,  as  being 
such,  it  is  the  purpose  of  this  concluding  repetition  to  bring 
to  notice.  Verses  13  and  14,  which  are  expressly  announced 
as  the  true  summary  of  the  book,  form  the  complement  to 
verse  8.  What  is  said  in  the  latter  leads  and  prepares  the 
way  for  that  which  is  said  in  the  former.  The  knowledge  of 
the  vanity  of  earthly  things  conducts  to  the  fear  of  God 
afterwards  recommended.  Since  all  things  are  vain,  man, 
who  is  subject  to  vanity,  should  do  all  in  his  power  to  enter 
into  a  living  relation  to  Him  who  is  the  true  absolute  Being, 
and  through  fellowship  with  him  to  participate,  himself,  in  a 
true  eternal  being.  All  being  vanity,  man  should  not  further 
vex  himself  about  a  "  handful  of  vanity," — he  should  not  care 
much  whether  he  have  to  suffer  a  little  more  or  a  little  less, 
but  attach  impoi-tance  alone  to  that  which  either  hinders  or 
favours  his  fellowship  with  Him  who  is  the  true  absolute, 
personal.  Being. 

Ver.  9.  "ini"'  signifies  generally  "more"  (chap,  vi.  8,  11, 
vii.  11),  here  it  means  "remaining,"  as  in  1   Samuel  xv.  15. 

*  Jerome — "post  descriptionem  interitiis  humani  pulchre  exordium  libri  sui 
repetens,  ait,  vanitas  vanitatum,  dixit  Ecclesiastes,  omnia  vanitas.  Quum  enim 
cunctus  mortalium  labor,  de  quo  in  toto  volumine  disputatum  est,  hue  perven- 
iat,  ut  revertatur  pulvis  in  terram  suam,  et  anima  illuc  redeat  unde  sumta  est, 
magnai  vanitatis  est,  in  hoc  seculo  laborare  et  nihil  profutura  conquirere." 

Rambach  says,  '-Patet  igitur  ex  haetenus  dictis  atque  imprimis  etiam  ex  vita 
hominis  natiirali  tam  brevi  et  misera,  quod  recte  ab  initio  adfirniaverim,  omnia 
quae  soli  subjecta  sunt,  vana,  misera  et  caduca  esse." 
R 


258  ^  CHAPTER  XII.  8-14. 

'  Tliere  remains,"  that  is,  "  it  remains  yet  to  be  said."  Luther, 
•who  renders,  "  This  same  preacher  was  not  only  wise,  but  he 
also  taught,"  and  others,  take  "IDI"'  in  the  sense  of  "besides;" 
compare  ''JOD  ini''  "  besides  me,"  in  Esther  vi.  6.  The  title 
Koheleth  did  not  belong  to  Solomon  as  such,  but  as  Salo'/no 
redivivus,  as  the  ideal  author  of  this  book.  (Compare  what 
has  already  been  said  on  this  matter  in  chap.  i.  1.)  This  is 
evident  from  this  verse  alone. .  Of  Solomon  himself  it  was 
superfluous  to  say  that  he  was  a  wise  man,  and  taught  the 
people  wisdom.  After  what  had  been  said  about  Solomon's 
wisdom  in  1  Kings  v.  9-11,  such  praise  would  sound  rather 
cold.  A  wise  man,  of  the  kingdom  of  God ;  not  in  the  sense 
of  the  world,  not  of  his  own  making,  but  of  God's,  (compare 
V.  11):  this  passage  consequently  does  not  contradict  Pro- 
verbs xxvii.  2,  "  let  another  praise  thee  and  not  thine  own 
mouth,  a  stranger  and  not  thine  own  lips."  He  was  an  organ 
of  that  heavenly  wisdom,  of  which  it  is  said  in  the  Book  of 
Wisdom  vii.  27,  xara  yswas  iii  -v^u^aj  oGiag  /jL£Ta(3amvsa,  (plXoug 
Ssou  xai  rrpo(pyirag  zarasxivui^n.'^  Koheleth  did  not  limit  him- 
self to  being  wise  for  himself,  but  he  further  (niy)  taught  the 
people  wisdom.  The  title  Koheleth  of  itself  indicates  this 
practical  popular  tendency.  On  the  side  of  the  readers  there 
was  the  corresponding  duty,  to  hear  and  to  take  to  heart  what 
was  taught.  The  Piel  of  Jts,  which  only  occurs  here,  is  most 
simply  explained  by  "  hsten,  hearken,"  after  the  example  of 
Aquila,  the  Syriac  and  the  Chaldee.  The  comparison  of  the 
Hiphil  form  is  less  remote  than  that  of  the  noun  D''JTSID, 
"  scales,"  from  which  several  have  been  disposed  to  derive  the 
meaning,  "  to  weigh,  to  consider."  To  attain  to  the  truth  of 
things  we  must  listen ;  especially  shall  we  succeed  in  this  pur- 
suit if  we  possess  a  hearing  ear  for  God  and  his  revelations: 
compare  Psalm  xlix.  5,  "  I  will  incline  mine  ear  to  the  para- 
ble." "pn  is  separated  from  |TN  andlpn  by  the  accentuation 
and  by  the  want  of  the  copula.  The  two  latter  verbs  desig- 
nate the  means  by  which  the  )pn  comes  to  pass.  The  verb, 
which  occurs   in  chap.  vii.    13,   in  the  sense   of  "to   make 

*  Karahach, — "  Ex  numero  scil.  illorum  sapientium  quos  Spiritus  S.  singula- 
riter  ad  docendum  scribendumaBque  instruxit,  coll.  v.  12,  unde  non  verendum 
est,  ut  aut  inutilia  ac  falsa  hactenus  monuerit,  aut  deiuceps  v.  13,  14  moni 
turus  sit." 


CHAPTER  XII.  8-14.  259 

straight,"  describes  here  not  merely  "the  making  complete,"  but 
at  the  same  time  also  the  skill  or  ability  of  the  work. — If 
Koheleth  is  Solomon  only  in  so  far  as  he  is  the  speaker  in  this 
book,  then  the  "  many  parables,"  or  proverbs,  cannot  be  those 
mentioned  in  1  Kings  v.  1 2,  of  which  a  great  part  is  con- 
tained in  the  Book  of  Proverbs,  but  must  be  those  contained 
in  the  present  book,  which  it  is  the  aim  to  recommend.  The 
book  contains  two  hundred  and  twenty-two  verses,  which  may 
be  regarded  as  so  many  C^K'o.  There  is  of  course  a  reference 
to  1  Kings  V.  1 2 :  the  ideal  Solomon  follows  in  the  footsteps 
of  the  historical. 

Ver.  1 0.  Koheleth  strove  to  find  out  acceptable  tvords  : — 
naturally  not  for  the  earthly,  but  for  the  heavenly  minded ; 
words  which  should  go  to  the  hearts  of  the  true  members  of 
the  Church  of  God.  Schmidt  remarks  :  "  Quae  jure  meritoque 
desiderari  et  placere  debent,  tanquam  divinse  virtutis,  et  cer- 
titudinis."  Cartwright  says,  "  Verbi  Dei  encomium  celebratur 
ab  adjuncta  dulcedine  s.  delectatione.  Sunt  etenim  homini 
pio  melle  dulciora,  Psa.  xix.,  ut  cibus  famelico  ut  potus 
sitienti."  And  Ujjrightness  was  written,  words  of  truth. 
The  relation  of  the  two  halves  of  the  verse  to  each  other  is 
wrongly  estimated  by  Elster,  who  says,  "  his  representation 
unites  therefore  artistic  grace  of  form  with  inner  truth  of 
thought."  Words  are  rather  acceptable,  because  they  are  up- 
right and  true,  as  in  Luke  ii.  52,  %«V/5  is  a  consequence  of 
Wisdom.  n:^i,  "uprightness,"  denotes  everywhere  that  char- 
acter or  condition  which  is  adequate  to  the  idea  or  standard. 
Wlierein  this  consists  is  more  carefully  described  by  the  ad- 
dition, "  words  of  truth."  Truth  is  the  quality  which  per- 
fectly corresponds  to  the  norm.  The  adverbal  view  of  "lE^ 
(Luther,  "  and  wrote  rightly  the  words  of  truth ")  can  scarcely 
be  justified.  The  fundamental  passage  in  this  connection  is 
'  Proverbs  viii.  6-10,  where  wisdom  says,  "hear,  for  I  speak 
noble  things,  and  the  opening  of  my  lips  is  uprightness.  For 
my  movith  speaketh  truth,  and  wickedness  is  an  abomination 
to  my  lips.  All  the  words  of  my  mouth  are  in  righteousness, 
and  there  is  nothing  twisted  or  perverse  in  them.  They  are 
all  plain  to  him  that  understandeth,  and  upright  to  them  that 
find  knowledge."  That  which  is  said  there  in  regard  to  the 
Proverbs  holds  good  also  of  this  book,  inasmuch  as  it  is  a 


2(J0  «  CHAPTER  XII.   8-1 4. 

production  of   the  same  "  wisdom  from    above,"  and  not  of 
weak,  erring  natural  reason. 

Ver.  1 1 .  From  tlie  praise  of  his  own  book,  the  author 
passes  to  the  praise  of  the  great  whole,  of  which  his  work  was 
destined  to  form  a  part,  to  wit,  of  the  canonical  books  of  the 
Old  Testament.  The  luords  of  the  wise,  of  the  organs  of  the 
rivukv  ffopicc,  of  the  authors  of  the  sacred  books  :  to  the  number 
thereof  the  author  of  this  book  must  be  reckoned  according 
to  what  has  preceded.*  The  Berleburger  Bible  says,  "  in  ver. 
1 1  the  reason  is  given  for  that  which  had  been  first  affirmed  : 
because,  namely,  he  is  one  of  the  wise  who  are  driven  by  the 
Spirit  of  God  (2  Peter  i.  21),  whose  words,  therefore,  have  a 
deep  meaning  and  importance."  Hitzig  observes,  "  an  external 
connection  is  established  between  verses  10  and  11,  by  the  fact 
that  the  words  of  truth  in  verse  1 0  proceed  from  one  of  the 
D''»3n  (ver.  9  a).  Hence,  such  words  of  the  wise."-f-  Are  as 
qoads.  pain,  from  am  in  the  Arabic  "  to  be  pointed,"  denotes 
goad  in  general,  and  not  specially  "  ox-goad."  The  point  of 
comparison  is  only  the  power  of  piercing,  penetrating  deep  : 
Gesenius  ;  "  aculeorum  instar  alte  descendunt  in  pectora  homi- 
num  iisque  manent  infixa."  We  should  be  led  to  this  view 
also  by  the  parallel  comparison  of  Nails.  Knobel  says,  quite 
incorrectly,  "just  as  the  ox-goad  teaches  the  ox  manners,  and 
causes  it  to  go  rightly."  And  like  nails  driven  in  are  the 
participators  in  the  collection.  yt33  means' strictly  "  to  plant ;" 
it  is  used  in  Daniel  xi.  45,  in  the  sense  "to  drive  in."  The 
plural  mnOB'D  is  here  treated  as  a  masculine  :  for  remarks  on 
feminines  in  n  which  are  changed  into  masculines,  see  Ewald, 
174  g.      The  plural  D''"iODD  occurs  in  Isaiah  xli.  7,  with  which 

*  Correctly  Rambach,  "Nam  verba  sapientium,  atque  ex  illis  maxime  scrip- 
torum  dfO'TvivSTCuv,  Mosis,  Samuelis,  Josuae,  Davidis,  ex  quibus  et  Ecclesiastes 
fuit,  coll.  V.  9."  Incorrectly  Elster,  who  says — "  By  the  words  of  the  wise  are 
meant  gnomic  or  didactic  poems,  which  being  brief  and  precise  both  as  to 
thought  and  expression  are  specially  fitted  to  have  .such  a  lively,  stimulating 
effect."  According  to  the  parallelism,  "the  wise"  are  the  authors  of  the  entire 
canouical  books  ;  and  that  the  excellence  is  not  to  be  sought  in  the /b?-?«,  but  in 
the  substance,  in  the  thought,  is  clear  from  the  fact  that  their  origin  is  traced  to 
the  One  Shepherd,  or,  in  other  words  to  Inspiration. 

t  Schmidt  and  Rambach,  "Ratio  hie  redditur  ejus  quod',  ver.  10,  dictum  est 
gcriptam  esse  ab  eo  rectitudinem  et  verba  veritatis  h.  e.  firma  et  infallibilia. 
Jtatio  nimirum  est  quia  ipse  sit  ex  illis  sapientibus,  Spiritu  Dei  uctis,  quorum 
verba  sint  sicut  stimuli,  etc." 


CHAPTER  XII.   8-14-.  261 

compare  1  Chronicles  xxii.  3.  Tlie  expression  niBDK  ''b]}2  has 
been  most  variously  explained.  It  is  therefore  of  the  more 
importance  to  renounce  all  attempts  at  guessing,  and  to  seek 
a  solid  groundwork.  The  form,  niSDN,  does  not  elsewhere 
occur,  but  the  masculine  form,  D''DDS,  does :  this  latter,  there- 
fore, must  be  our  guide,  more  especially  as  it  is  in  use  amongst 
the  writers  of  the  post-exile  period,  to  whose  usage  that  of  Ko- 
heleth  everywhere  bears  resemblance.  D'^QOK,  "  that  which  is 
collected,  collectse,  collectanea,"  is  used  in  1  Chronicles  xxvi. 
15,  17,  and  Nehemiah  xii.  25,  of  the  stores  of  the  sanctuary, 
in  reference  to  which  it  is  said,  in  2  Chronicles  xxv.  24, 
"  silver  and  gold  and  all  the  vessels  which  were  found  in  the 
house  of  God."*  Now  niDDX  here  has  quite  the  same  mean- 
ing as  this  D''DDS  : — both  signify,  "collected  things,"  "that 
which  is  collected."  The  sphere  to  which  what  is  collected 
belongs,  the  nature  of  that  which  is  collected,  is  more  pre- 
cisely defined  by  the  foregoing  expression,  "  the  words  of  the 
wise,"  to  which  niSDK  ^^2  corresponds.  Accordingly,  the  re- 
ference can  only  be  to  the  national  library  :  and  the  Baale  or 
Associates  of  that  which  is  collected  can  only  be  those  who 
have  taken  part  in  the  contents  of  the  collection,  to  wit,  the 
authors  of  the  individual  books  contained  therein,  ^yn  is 
any  one  who  takes  part  in  a  matter :  thus  nnn  '''?V2  are  the 
associates  of  the  covenant,  (Genesis  xiv.  13)  ;  yen  'b]:!  are 
those  who  are  participators  in  wickedness  (compare  Eccles. 
vii.  1 2)  ;  -cy  '7]}2  are  the  associates  of  a  city,  that  is,  the  inha- 
bitants :  niD^n  ''bv2,  are  the  authors  of  the  Talmud.  The  two 
clauses  correspond  exactly  to  each  other :  to  the  "  words  of 
the  wise,"  con-espond  the  "  associates  of  the  collection,"  and  to 
the  goads,  the  Qiails  driven  in.  Only  in  the  second  clause  is 
the  position  of  the  words  an  inverted  one,  and  the  object  of 
the  inversion  is  to  connect  i:n3  immediately  with  niDDK  ^^vn. 
All  explanations  different  from  the  one  given  by  us  split  on 
the  meaning  of  niDDK  just  established.  So  for  example  that 
by  which  even  Luther  rendered  the  two  difficult  words — "  as 
nails  fastened  in  are  the  '  masters  of  assemblies,' "  namely,  the 

*  Lightfoot,  opp.  i.,  p.  560,  busies  himself  ex  professo  with  these  Asuppim, 
and  under  Nehemfah  i.  c.  defines  them  as  "  certae  apothecae,  in  quas  thesauri 
et  ohlationes  tenipli  coUigebantur  et  recondebantur,  et  quidem  h.  I.  tales  qua 
erant  ad  januas  sitai." 


y 


262  CHAPTER  XII.  8-14. 

teachers  who  preside  over  the  assemblies  of  the  people,  or  that 
of  Gesenius — "  the  associates  of  the  (learned)  assemblies." 
Apart  from  the  fact  that  this  meaning  is  unsuitable — teachers 
or  learned  men  are  quite  out  cf  place  here — niiDDX  does  not 
signify  "  assemblies."  In  the  opinion  of  others  mSDS  ''^yn  is 
not  the  subject,  but  is  put  in  opposition,  and  describes  nails 
more  particularly  :  "  qui  ipsi  clavi  sunt  domini  a)llectionum, 
i.  e.,  instrumenta  v.  media  firmiter  res  combinantia,"  (Geier). 
This  is  thought  to  suit  the  expression,  "  the  words  of  the  wise," 
very  well :  since  they  not  only  enable  the  wise  to  collect  their 
distracted  minds,  but  also  keep  a  whole  Church  together," 
(Berleb.  Bible).*  But  even  on  this  view  a  doubtful  meaning 
is  thrust  on  the  word  niSDX  ;  the  thought  drags,  and  the  im- 
pression of  the  simple  image  of  goads  and  nails,  which  was 
meant  only  to  represent  the  piercing,  deeply  penetrating 
power,  is  destroyed,  or  else  the  nails  are  without  reason 
separated  from  the  goads  ;  and  finally  the  correspondence  be- 
tween the  sentences,  which  requires  that  niSDK  ""^yn,  corre- 
sponding as  it  does  to  coan  nm,  must  be  the  subject,  is  over- 
thrown. Hitzig  refers  the  term,  "  flie  collected  ones,"  to 
"  collected  proverbs  or  sayings."  In  tiiat  case,  however,  i^jya 
is  unsuitable  ;  besides,  the  parallel  expression,  D"'»3n  ''"in,  has 
a  wider  signification  ;  and  further,  this  book  does  not  at  all 
contain  a  "collection  of  sayings."  According  to  the  well- 
founded  interpretation  advanced  above,  the  sense  of  the  two 
clauses  is  the  following — that  the  sacred  writings  of  Israel  are 
endowed  with  a  deeply  penetrating  power,  in  distinction  from 
all  worldly  literature,  which  can  only  produce  a  superficial 
impression,  and  is  incapable  of  stirring  the  deepest  depths  of 
the  mind  and  heart.  A  parallel  passage  is  Revelations  i.  16, 
which  represents  a  sharp  and  two-edged  sword  as  going  out 
of  the  mouth  of  Christ.  By  this  we  are  to  understand  in  the 
first  instance,  not  the  power  which  the  word  has  of  penetrat- 
ing to,  and  healing  the  heart,  but  rather  the  destructive 
power  it  derives  from  the  omnipotence  which  is  its  sourca 
This  is  clear  even  from  chap.  ii.  1 2,  as  compared  with  chap, 
ii.  1 6,  where  the  two-edged  sword  is  said  to  be  directed  against 

*  Following  the  example  of  Cocceius,  Vitringa  says  ;  ''  habent  virtutem  eccle- 
siam  continendi  in  eodem  sensu,  quemadmodum  clavi  asseribus  firmiter  impacti 
aidiura  partes  apte  consertas  minime  vacillare  et  hiare  sinunt." 


CHAPTER  XII.  8-14.  263 

the  fjilse  seed  which  is  in  the  Church  ;  and  from  chap.  xix. 
21,  where  it  is  said  to  bring  down  ruin  on  the  anti- christian 
power  of  the  heathen.  But  the  power  of  the  word  to  destroy, 
and  its  power  to  penetrate  the  heart  with  salvation,  have  one 
root.  That  root  is  the  energetic  Hfe  it  draws  from  God,  who 
is  the  fount  of  all  life  and  of  all  strength.  We  may  say  the 
same  thing  of  the  second  parallel  passage  from  the  New  Tes- 
tament, Hebrews  iv.  12:  "  for  the  word  is  living  and  power- 
ful, and  sharper  than  a  two-edged  sword,  piercing  even  to  the 
dividing  asunder  of  soul  and  spirit,  of  joints  and  marrow,  and 
is  a  discerner  of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart."  There 
also,  "  the  living  energy  of  the  word  from  which  it  is  impos- 
sible to  escape,"  (Delitzsch),  is  directed  in  the  first  instance 
against  its  enemies  and  despisers,  as  is  evident  from  the  warn- 
ing reference  made  to  facts  of  the  time  of  Moses,  when  dis- 
obedience to  the  word  was  followed  by  death.  Hand  in  hand, 
however,  with  this  aspect  of  the  energy  of  the  word  goes  the 
healing  and  redemptive  one  specially  mentioned  in  the  pas- 
sage now  under  notice.  A  canon  whereby  to  judge  sermons 
has  been  justly  drawn  from  this  verse.  They  ought  to  have 
the  characteristics  of  the  Scriptures  themselves :  they  are 
w^orth  nothing  if  they  cannot  stand  the  comparison  with  goads 
and  nails.*  Here  also  have  we  a  rule  for  the  conduct  of 
hearers  towards  sermons  : — "  they  must  not  feel  vexed  if  they 
leave  their  sting  in  the  soul."-f-  The  words,  "  they  were  given 
by  one  shepherd,"  give  the  reason  why  such  qualities  are 
ascribed  to  the  "  words  of  the  wise,"  and  of  the  "  associates  of 
tlie  collection;" — it  is  as  if  the  writer  said — "and  indeed 
they  are   such  because  they  were  given."j      Analogous  is   2 

•  Jerome,  "  Simul  et  hoc  notandum  est,  quod  dicuntur  verba  sapientium 
pungere,  iion  palpare  nee  molli  manu  attrectare  lasciviam  sed  errantibus  et 
tardis  pcenitentite  dolores  et  vulnus  infigere.  Si  cujus  igitur  sermo  non  piingit, 
sed  oblectationi  est  audientibus  iste  non  est  sermo  sapientis.  Verba  quippe 
sapientium  ut  stimuli. — Hoc  stimulo,  necdum  Paulum,  sed  adhuc  Saulum  puto 
in  via  confossum  erroris  audisse ;  durum  tibi  est  adversus  stimulum  calcitrare." 

t  Cartwright,  «' Hoc  nos  admoneat  tranquillo  animo  Ministrorum  asperiores 
et  acriores  adhortationis  morsus  placide  ferre,  et  eosdem  ad  Deum  tanciuam 
autorem,  non  autem  ad  ministrorum  morositatem  (quod  fieri  solet)  referre: 
denique  hinc  liquet  scripturam  ct  sanam  doctrinam  non  assentari  hominibus, 
aut  corruptam  naturam  nostram  blandimentis  dclinirc." 

J  Cartwright,  "  Omnium  antem  verbi  encomiorum  nullum  majus  est,  quodque 
omnium  aliarum  laudatissimarum  virtutum  fons  et  causa  est,  quod  postremo 


iJ04<  CHAPTER  XII.  8-1  4. 

Timotliy  iii.  1 6,  Taca  y^apj^,  Siorrvsvirrog,  xai  utpiXi/iog  Tpog  dibaff- 
xaXiav,  Tpog  'iKiyyov,  etc.,  where  the  deeply  penetrative  influence 
of  the  Scriptures  is  traced  to  their  divine  inspiration.  The 
subject  of  i:nj  is  firstly,  "  the  words  of  the  wise,"  and  then 
"the  associates  of  the  collection:"  in  regard  to  the  latter, 
compare  Ephesians  iv.  11 — "and  he  gave  some  apostles,  etc." 
(see  Stier  on  the  passage).  The  "  Shepherd''  can  only  be  the 
Lord.  God  is  first  designated  the  Shepherd  of  Israel  in 
Genesis  xlviii.  15  ;  xlix.  24  :  in  the  last  quoted  place  He  is 
simply  called  "the  Shepherd."  Further  in  Psalm  xxiii.  1, 
where  not  the  individual  believer  but  entire  Israel  says,  "  the 
Lord  is  my  Shepherd  : "  (see  also  Isaiah  xl.  11;  Jeremiah 
xxxi.  10  ;  Ezekiel  xxxiv.  11,  12.)  Israel  the  flock,  the  Lord 
the  shepherd — this  is  a  common  image,  especially  in  the  post- 
exile  writings.  On  any  other  mode  of  explanation  we  lose 
ourselves  in  a  region  of  guesses.  As  a  shepherd,  as  the  lov- 
ing support  of  his  Church,  God  has  given  it  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures.* In  contrast  to  the  plurality  of  the  writers,  which 
gave  occasion  to  the  words,  "  the  associates  of  the  collection," 
emphasis  is  laid  on  the  oneness  of  the  primal  source  of  the 
Sacred  Scriptures. 

Ver.  12.  And  for  the  rest.  The  offer  is  complete  ;  it  now 
only  remains  that  what  has  been  offered  be  appropriated.  My 
son  :  "dear  reader,  whoever  thou  art,  whom  I  have  sought  to 
admonish  as  a  fiither,"  (Berleburger  Bible.)  Take  insiruction 
from  them,  nana  refers  to  the  preceding  verse  in  which  the 
entire  scriptures  are  spoken  of  Elster's  view  consequently  is 
incorrect ;  "in  verse  1 2  Koheleth  advises  his  readers  to  be 
content  with  the  simple  truth  contained  in  his  own  book." 
His  own  book  is  mentioned  only  as  part  of  a  comprehensive 
whole.  "iriTJ  was  used  in  the  sense  of  "to  let  oneself  be 
admonished"  in  chap.  iv.  ]  3.  We  find  it  employed  with  the 
same  force — "  to  let  oneself  be  admonished  by  the  Word  of 
God,"  in  Ezekiel  iii.  21,  xxxiii.  4,  5,  6.  In  Psalm  xix.  12, 
to  which  there  appears  here  to  be  a  very  distinct  allusion,  it 

loco  ponitur:  nempe  quod  omnes  Dei  sermones,  utcunqiie  per  varia  Prophet- 
arum  organa  et  instrumenta  ad  nos  perveniant,  ab  uno  pastore  Christo  nobis 
donati  sint." 

*  Cartwright,  "  Est  enim  verbum  dei  pabulum  et  veluti  tenera  herba,  qua 
pascuntur  pii  ad  vitam  aeternam." 


CHAPTER  XII.   8-14.  265 

is  said  of  the  revealed  commands  of  God,  "  moreover,  by  them 
is  thy  servant  ivarned."*  Luther  translates,  "  guard  thyself, 
my  son,  against  others  more :"  and  this  explanation  was  ap- 
proved by  Gesenius.  For  the  understanding  of  p  inv  appeal 
may  be  made  to  Esther  vi.  6  ;  for  the  meaning  of  the  verb,  to 
the  Chaldee.  But  it  is  simplest  to  understand  nnv  as  in  verse 
9  ;  and  the  parallel  passages  are  too  decidedly  in  favour  of  the 
meaning  assigned  above  to  inii.  The  meaning,  "to  guard 
oneself,"  does  not  occur  in  Hebrew  usage.  After  the  exhorta- 
tion to  the  right  use  of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  follows  a  warning 
against  the  study  of  the  literature  of  the  world.-f  Of  making 
many  books  there  is  no  end.  It  is  the  nature  of  the  wisdom 
of  this  world  never  to  arrive  at  a  conclusion  concerning  the 
very  highest  questions,  with  which  we  have  alone  here  to  do  ; 
never  to  come  to  certain  results,  never  to  get  rest.  It  is  ever 
learning  and  never  coming  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth. 
There  is  consequently  no  consolation  for  him  who  devotes 
himself  to  this  literature  with  the  expectation  of  finding  in  it 
the  solution  to  the  enigma  of  this  earthly  life :  and  Tnuch 
desire  is  a  weariness  to  the  flesh,  yrh  occurs  only  here.  The 
verb  signifies  in  Arabic  "  to  be  desirous."  The  reference  to 
the  thirst  for  knoivledge  lies  not  in  the  word  but  in  the  con- 
text :  "  much  desire  for  that  multitude  of  heathen  books."  It 
is  not  in  the  interest  of  laziness  that  this  warning  against 
"  weariness  of  the  flesh"  is  uttered.  One  may  meditate  day 
and  night  on  the  law  of  God  (Psalm  i.)  without  experiencing 
this  "  weariness  of  the  flesh."  But  one  should  subject  oneself 
to  such  weariness  only  when  some  positive  actual  result  is 
likely  to  be  gained.  In  connexion  with  the  literature  of 
heathendom  there  was  weariness  of  the  flesh  and  nothing  else  ; 
it  was  a  mere  Sisyphus  labour  ;  it  brought  no  true  gain  to  the 
God-descended  spirit.:]:  Some  have  maintained  that  the  words, 
"  of  making  many  books,  etc.,"  imply  "  that  at  this  time  the 
simplicity  of  the  wisdom  revealed  by  God  had  already  begTin 

*  "  Unde  et  pater  ejus  banc  laudem  doctrinse  Dei  tribuit  Psa.  xix.  quod 
Dei  servus  eadem  cautus  et  comnionitus  redditur." — Cartwright. 

t  Jerome — "Exceptis  his  verbis  qua;  ab  uno  pastore  sunt  data,  nihil  tibi 
vindices.  Alioqui,  qurerenti  multa,  infinitus  tibi  librorum  nuraerus  occurret : 
qui  te  pertrahat  ad  errorem  et  legcntem  frustra  faciet  laborare." 

X  Cartwright — "  Quorum  exlectione  prseter  tsedium  et  tui  ipsius  fatigatimem, 
nullum  fructum  percept  urus  es." 


266  CHAPTER  XII.  8-14. 

to  be  spoiled  by  an  unfraitful  and  jDrolix  school-learning." 
But  that  the  writer's  attack  is  not  directed  against  the  native 
Hebrew  literature,  is  evident,  from  the  fact  that  for  centuries 
long  the  dogmatical  wisdom  of  the  Rabbins  was  handed  down 
solely  by  oral  tradition ;  and  it  is  quite  certain  that  at  the 
date  of  this  book,  however  late  we  set  its  origin,  there  existed 
no  extended  Rabbinical  literature.  From  chap.  vii.  26,  as 
well  as  from  the  contrast  drawn  between  Israelitish  and 
heathenish  wisdom  even  in  the  Book  of  Proverbs,  it  is  evident 
that  the  author's  polemic  is  with  that  false  wisdom  which  was 
threatening  to  pass  from  the  heathen  world  to  the  Jews. 
Others,  who  rightly  refer  the  words  to  heathen  literature,  draw 
from  them  the  conclusion  that  the  book  was  not  composed  till 
the  time  of  the  Persian  dominion.  But  it  is  impossible  to 
prove  that  the  heathen  were  more  addicted  to  wi-iting  many 
books  at  the  end,  than  at  the  middle,  of  this  period,  Recent 
investigations  have  put  beyond  doubt  that,  in  earlier  times. 
Egyptian  literature  was  both  comprehensive  and  vain  and  un- 
fruitful. According  to  Diodorus,  i.  49,  over  the  sacred  library 
at  Thebes  was  the  inscription,  "  pharmacy  of  the  soul,"  -^vx/ig 
larpiTov. 

Ver.  13.  The  saying  here,  corresponds  to  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Epilogue  in  ver.  8.  There,  all  things  earthly  are 
represented  as  vain  :  here,  our  connection  with  God  is  set  forth 
as  the  great  essential.  "  the  conclusion  of  the  discourse,  the 
whole,  let  us  hear."  The  word,  ^)D  is  never  used  by  the 
writers  of  the  pre-exile  period,  and  indeed,  as  a  Hebrew  word, 
never  occurs  except  in  this  book,  in  Joel,  and  in  2  Chron.  xx. 
16:  it  frequently  occurs  in  the  Chaldee  portion  of  Daniel. 
Its  meaning  is  not  "  the  sum,"  but,  "  the  whole."  At  the  same 
time,  only  a  thought  of  thorough  importance  is  put  at  the  end 
when  expressly  described  as  the  end  ;  and  we  are  afterwards 
distinctly  told  that  the  end  is  also  the  sum.  "im  is  undoubt- 
edly the  particular  discourse  set  before  us  in  this  book.  The 
article  may  be  omitted,  whenever  "  the  context  may  be  pre- 
sumed to  define  more  precisely  what  is  meant,  and  when  there- 
fore, the  article  is  considered  superfluous,"  (Ewald,)  b  being 
strictly  a  noun,  it  should  not  be  rendered,  "  of  the  whole  dis- 
course : "  bn  is  rather  set  in  opposition,  and  informs  us  that  in 
the  termination  of  the  discourse  the  whole  is  included  ; — it 


CHAPTER  XIL  8-14-.  267 

expressly  specifies  that  the  closing  thought  is  the  main,  the 
fundamental  thought.  We  may  also  regard  the  oft-repeated 
exhortation  addressed  to  murmurers,  to  enjoy  life,  as  com- 
prehended under  the  last  admonition — "  fear  God."  For 
what  is  it  but  fear  of  God,  wilHngly  to  bear  what  God  has 
laid  upon  us,  to  rise  above  our  trials  with  the  exclamation, 
"  the  Lord  gave  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away,"  to  live  in 
freedom  from  care  and  fear  to  the  present  moment,  and  cheer- 
fully to  enjoy  what  He  offers.  All  murmuring  is  godlessness. 
J^DK'J  is  the  pause  form  of  the  first  plural  future ;  compare  Joshua 
xxiv.  22  ;  Jeremiah  xlii.  6.  "Fear  God  and  keep  his  com- 
mandments, for  that  is  (the  duty  of)  all  men.  Many  commen- 
tators explain,  "  for  that  is  the  whole  man."  Ewald  says, — 
"  for  therein  consists  the  whole  man,  or  that,  which  is  truly 
simple,  which  is  sufiicient  for  the  entire  man,  and  in  which 
everything  else  that  is  human  is  comprised."  Elster  say^, 
"  therein  lies  man's  whole  nature,  thereon  depends  his  whole 
fate."*  However  attractive  this  explanation  may  be,  we  must 
still  abide  by  Luther'-s  translation,  "  For  that  belongs  to  all 
men."  The  phrases  DIN  ^3  and.  DISH  ^3  very  often  occur  and 
invariably  signify — "all  men;"  never,  "the  whole  man."-f- 
Against  this  consideration  the  harshness  of  the  ellipsis,  "  that 
(should)  all  men,"  is  not  at  all  worthy  of  mention.  Such 
harsh  modes  of  expression  occur  not  unfrequently  in  the  later 
form  of  the  language,  in  which  this  book  is  written.^  To  fear 
God  and  keep  His  commandments  is  the  duty  of  all  men, 

*  The  saying  of  Lactantius  forms  a  good  commentary  on  the  words  as  thus 
Tiewed  :  he  says  in  the  Instit.  vi.  1,  "Id  enim  est  hominis officium  in  eoque  solo 
gumma  rerum  et  omnis  beataj  vitre  ratio  consistit :  quandoquidem  propterea  ficti 
et  inspirati  ab  eo  sumus,  non  ut  caelum  videremus  ct  solem,  quod  Anaxagoras 
putavit ;  sed  ut  artifieem  solis  et  coeli,  Deum  pura  et  Integra  mente  coleremus." 

t  D"TS  ^2  Leviticus  xvi.  17  ;  Job  xxi.  33 ;  xxxvi.  25 ;  xxxvii.  7  :  Psalm 
xxxix.  6,  12;  Ixiv.  10:  Jeremiah  x.  14:  etc.  DlSn  ^3  chap.  vii.  2;  Genesis 
vii.  21 ;  Exodus  ix.  19  ;  Numbers  xii.  3,  xvi.  29-32  ;  Judges  xvi.  17  ;  1  Kings 
viii.  38. 

t  Jerome,  "  aiunt  Hebraji,  quum  inter  caetera  scripta  Salomonis,  quaj  anti- 
quata  sunt  nee  in  memoria  duraverunt,  et  hie  liber  obliterandus  videretur,  eo 
quod  vanas  assererit  Dei  creaturas  ct  totum  putaret  esse  pro  nlhilo,  et  cibum  et 
potum  et  delicias  transeuntes  praferret  omnibus,  ex  hoc  uno  capitulo  meruisse 
auctoritatem  ut  in  divinorum  voluminum  numero  poneretur,  quod  totam  dis- 
putationem  suam  et  oninem  catalogum  hac  quasi  avaxitpaXaiudi  coarctaverit 
et  dixerit  fir.em  sermon um  suorum  auditu  esse  promt i^>simum  nee  aliquid  in  se 
hal)ere  difficile,  ut  scilicet  Deum  timcamus  ct  ejus  pra;cepta  faciamus." 


2G3  CHAPTER  XII.  8-14. 

because  all  bear  His  image,  and  can  have  no  true  life  or 
growth  except  in  connection  with  the  primal  source  of  their 
existence  :  they  must  also  be  punished  with  destruction  if 
they  criminally  and  violently  break  this  connection.  This 
latter  consideration  is  expressly  and  emphatically  alluded  to  in 
ver.  1 4,  where  the  motive  of  the  admonition  is  given.  "  Into 
the  judgment  on  every  secret  thing."  ^y  is  very  frequently 
used  of  the  substratum  or  object:  hence  "on"  is  equivalent 
to  "  concerning,  in  respect  of"  That  the  judgment  here  is 
principally  the  future  one,  is  clear  from  the  corresponding 
ver.  7,  where  the  appearance  of  the  spirit  separated  from  the 
body  before  God,  in  order  to  receive  recompence  for  its  works, 
was  spoken  of:  (compare  1  Cor.  iv.  5  ;  2  Cor.  v,  10  ;  Acts 
xvii.  31.)  Still  there  is  no  reason  for  confining  our  thoughts 
entirely  to  the  future  judgment :  we  should  rather  think  of 
judgment  in  its  widest  compass,  as  it  is  begun  in  time  and 
perfected  in  eternity.  The  mere  mention  of  "secret  things" 
does  not  compel  us  to  limit  the  words  to  the  future  judgment. 
For  in  Psalm  xc.  8,  it  said  of  the  judgment  which  is  pronoun- 
ced and  executed  by  history — "  thou  settest  our  iniquities  be- 
fore thee,  our  secret  sin  in  the  light  of  thy  countenance." 
Even  Luther  saw  how  comprehensive  was  the  application  of 
the  expression  :  he  remarks,  "  the  author  does  not  speak  here 
only  of  the  judgment  at  the  last  day,  but,  according  to  Scrip- 
ture usage,  of  judgment  in  general.  There  is  a  judgment  and 
an  hour  for  everything  with  God,  and  no  one  can  escape. 
Wherefore  Arius  and  all  heretics  are  already  judged.  But  at 
the  last  day  it  will  be  made  still  clearer  in  the  presence  of  all 
creatures,  angels  and  men,  that  even  now  in  the  day  of  visita^ 
tion,  God  the  Lord  has  laid  bare  their  sin  and  disgrace,  that 
in  a  word,  there  is  no  more  concealment." 

"  O  how  exceeding  necessary  is  it  that  our  light  and 
thoughtless  nature  should  at  all  times  remember,  and  be 
reminded  of,  the  strict  and  unavoidable  account  awaiting  us,  so 
that  we  may  never  forget  it !  How  easily  one  or  another 
may  be  called  upon  to  render  his  account  ere  he  is  ready ! 
Should  we  not  therefore  be  ever  preparing,  if  we  do  not  desii-e 
to  be  put  to  confusion,  but  to  receive  such  a  sentence  as  we 
desire  and  can  count  blessed." 


PROLEGOMENA 

TO 

THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON, 

BY 

PROFESSOR  DR.  HENGSTENBERG. 


PEOLEGOMENA 


THE   SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


I  ON  THE  UNITY  OF  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 

There  are  various  views  in  regard  to  the  composition  of  the 
Song  of  Solomon.  Some  writers  look  upon  it  as  an  aggregate 
or  collection  of  single  poems,  composed  by  different  authors 
and  at  different  periods.  Others,  on  the  contrary,  regard  it  as 
"  a  drama  not  intended  for  representation."  These  latter  are 
at  great  pains  to  show  that,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end, 
there  is  a  regular  progress,  both  of  the  thought  and  the 
action. 

Neither  of  these  two  views  expresses  the  whole  truth  :  the 
truth  lies  in  the  middle.  The  Song  of  Solomon  is  not  a 
collection  of  poems  by  different  authors  ;  nor  is  it  a  collection  of 
unconnected  poems  by  one  and  the  same  author  :  nor,  further, 
is  it  by  any  means  a  thoroughly  and  regularly  progressive 
whole.  The  book  falls  into  two  parts — the  union  and  the 
reunion :  and,  in  each  of  these  two  parts,  we  observe,  not  a 
"  dramatic  progress,"  but  a  series  of  groups  of  stanzas,  in  which 
the  various  aspects  of  the  relation  of  love  are  exhibited  to  us. 
Analogies  to  this  method  may  be  found  in  various  parts  of 
Holy  Scripture  (compare  my  Commentary  on  the  Book  of 
Revelation,  vol.  ii.  2.)  We  may  apply  to  the  Song  of  Solomon 
what  de  Wette  says  of  the  Book  of  Daniel — "  The  book  has 
a  plan,  and  forms  a  whole,  but  it  is  so  arranged  that  one 
and  the  same  thing  keeps   recurring  under  different  forms. 


272  PROLEGOMENA  TO  THE 

presenting    itself  before    the    eye    of  the  reader   with   ever 
increasing  distinctness  and  clearness." 

Let  us,  in  the  first  place,  set  forth  the  considerations  which 
bear  against  the  view  of  the  Song  of  Solomon  as  an  aggregate 
of  poems  originally  unconnected. 

The  superscription  itself — "  The  Song  of  Songs" — charac- 
terises the  book  as  a  complete  and  internally  connected  whole. 
Even  that  interpretation  of  the  words,  which  was  invented  for 
the  very  purpose  of  setting  aside  the  testimony  to  the  unity 
of  the  work  furnished  by  the  superscription — the  explanation, 
namely,  "  The  Song  which  consisteth  of  many  songs," — tells  in 
the  same  direction.  For,  an  aggregate  utterly  destitute  of 
internal  unity  could  never  be  called  a  Song.  But  the  unity 
is  still  more  decidedly  favoured  by  the  only  explanation  which 
can  be  considered  well-founded,  to  wit,  "  the  most  glorious 
song  ;"  an  explanation  which  is  in  accordance  with  Solomon's 
own  usage  in  1  Kings  viii.  27,  where  he  describes  the  highest 
heavens,  as  "  thfe  heaven  of  heavens."  Compare,  also,  D^ny  ny, 
"the  most  glorious  ornaments"  (literally  "the  ornament  of 
ornaments,")  in  Ezekiel  xvi.  7,  and  Numbers  iii.  32.  This 
explanation  is  now  universally  recognised  as  the  right  one. 
Gesenius  for  example,  says,  "  the  expression,  Song  of  Songs  is 
unquestionably  so  much  as,  the  most  beautiful  of  songs." 
Ewald  also  says,  "a  song  which  is  distinguished  amongst 
songs,  in  comparison  with  which  all  others  hide  their  heads." 
Magnus  remarks,  (page  1 3),  "  the  explanation,  the  most  beauti- 
ful song,  is  the  only  correct  one,  and  is  adopted  with  one 
accord  by  all  the  more  recent  expositors  ;"  he  also  allows  that 
the  author  intended  thereby  to  indicate  that  he  regarded  the 
work  as  a  connected  whole.  Unless  we  force  a  meaning  on 
the  word,  the  singular  n^t^',  can  only  refer  to  a  single  song,  that 
is,  to  a  song  which  forms  a  connected  whole. 

As  the  superscription,  so  also  does  the  conclusion,  (chap. 
viii,  13,  14)  show,  that  we  have  one  book  before  us. 

The  formal  arrangement  of  the  book,  shows  that  the 
"  Song  of  Songs"  is  not  a  loose  assemblage  of  separate  songs, 
but  an  organised  and  connected  whole,  and  leads  us,  therefore, 
to  the  same  conclusion.  The  ten  minor  sections  of  the  book 
are  collected  into  two  greater  ones  of  five  parts  each  :  the 
subject  of  the  one  of  these  greater  divisions  is,  the  union  ;  of 


SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  273 

the  other,  the  reunion.  The  first  part  of  the  first  greater 
division,  embraces  from  chap.  i.  2,  to  chap.  ii.  7,  and  is  divided 
into  three  stages.  The  second  part  consists  of  the  decade  in 
chap.  ii.  8-17.  The  third  part  is  chap.  iii.  1-11,  a  decade, 
with  a  conchiding  verse,  divided  into  two  series  of  five  verses 
each.  The  fourth  part  is  formed  by  the  number  seven  in 
chap.  iv.  1-7.  The  fifth,  by  the  decade  in  chap.  iv.  8 — v.  1. 
Of  the  second  greater  section,  the  first  part  begins  with  chap, 
v.  2,  and  ends  with  chap.  vi.  3.  The  second  part  is  the  decade 
chap.  vi.  4 — vii.  1,  which  is  divided  into  two  series  of  verses 
respectively  numbering  seven  and  three.  The  third  part  is 
the  decade  chap.  vii.  2-11,  divided  into  two  series  of  five  each. 
The  fourth  part  comprises  verses  to  tlie  number  of  seven, 
chap.  vii.  ]  2 — viii.  4,  divided  into  two  series  of  three  and  four. 
The  fifth  part  is  the  decade,  chap.  viii.  5-14,  divided  into  two 
series  of  verses,  respectively  of  the  number  of  three  and 
seven. 

In  support  of  the  unity  of  the  book  may  be  further  urged 
the  fact  that  the  second  part  contains  a  succession  of  allusions 
to  and  interweaviiigs  with  the  first,  whose  purpose  is  to 
indicate  that  the  old  relation  which  had  been  disturbed  by 
discord  is  now  fully  re-established.  This  procedure  reaches  its 
cKmax  in  chap.  vi.  5-7  as  compared  with  chap.  iv.  1-3  :  compai^e 
besides,  chap.  v.  9  and  vi.  1,  with  chap.  i.  8:  chap.  vi.  11, 
with  chap.  ii.  12,13:  chap.  vii.  4  with  chap.  iv.  5  :  chap, 
vii.  5  with  chap.  iv.  4  :  chap.  vii.  6  with  chap.  iv.  3  :  chap, 
vii  12,  13,.  with  chap.  ii.  12,  13  :  chap.  viii.  2  with  chap.  iii.  4: 
chap.  viii.  3,  4  with  chap.  ii.  6,  7  :  chap.  viii.  5,  with 
chap.  iii.  6. 

The  frequently  recurring  concluding  formulas  are,  moreover, 
so  many  indications  of  the  unity  of  the  book.  So  also  the 
thrice  repeated  charge  to  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem  not  to 
awaken  her  love  (chap.  ii.  7,  viii.  5,  iii.  4.)  A  similar  formula 
occurs  in  chap.  ii.  1 7,  viii.  1 4,  with  which  compare  chap.  iv.  6 : 
then  also  in  chap.  ii.  1 6  and  vi.  3, 

Even  in  the  very  title,  Solomon  is  set  before  us  as  the 
centre  of  the  whole  poem.  He  appears  in  this  character  also 
at  the  close  (chap.  viii.  11.)  In  the  course  of  the  book  he  is 
mentioned  in  chap.  iii.  7,  i\  1 1  :  compare  also  chap.  i.  4,  1  2, 
vii.  5,  where  he  is  referred  to  under  the  title  of  "  the  King." 


274  PROLEGOMENA  TO  THE 

Throughout  the  whole  work  the  lover  is  one  and  the  same,  to 
wit,  the  heavenly  Solomon. 

The  beloved  one  also  is  the  same  through  the  entire  hook, 
to  wit,  the  daughter  of  Zion,  the  Israelitish  Nation.  In  the 
opening  of  the  theme  (see  chap.  i.  6)  she  complains  against 
herself,  for  not  having  kept  her  vineyard  ;  and  towards  the 
close  (chap.  viii.  12),  she  promises  faithfully  to  watch  over  her 
vineyard.  Neither  of  these  things  has  any  meaning  unless 
we  suppose  the  beloved  one  to  be  Israel. 

Throughout  the  whole,  mention  is  made  of  the  daughters  of 
Jerusalem,  (see  chap.  i.  5)  that  is,  of  the  heathen  nations  who 
were  to  be  brought  into  the  kingdom  of  God. 

Throughout  the  whole,  the  Church  is  represented  under  the 
image  of  the  Mother  of  the  heavenly  Solomon,  and  of  the 
Bride  (cha.p.  iii.  4,  11,  vi.  9,  viii.  2,  5) :  the'  Church  appears 
also  as  a  garden  full  of  lovely  trees  and  flowers  (compare  chap. 
V.  12-16,  vi.  2,  viii.  18,  ii.  12,  18,  vi.  11):  lilies  are  the 
symbol  of  loveliness — especially  of  the  loveliness  of  the  nations 
who  are  to  be  received  into  the  kingdom  of  the  heavenly 
Solomon  (compare  chap.  ii.  16,  iv.  5,  vi.  2,  ii.  1,  2,  v.  18,  vii. 
8) :  the  breasts  are  an  image  of  the  nutritive  virtue  of  the 
Church  (compare  iv.  5) :  the  desert  stands  for  the  condition  of 
the  lost  and  unredeemed  (compare  chap.  iii.  6,  viii.  5)' :  the 
dove  is  used  as  the  symbol  of  the  defenceless  innocence  of  the 
Church  (see  chap.  i.  15,  ii.  14,  iv.  1,  v.  2,  12,  vi.  9.) 

Within  the  narrow  limits  of  the  Song  of  Songs,  as  frequent 
mention  is  made  of  myrrh  as  in  all  the  rest  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. Appletrees  and  apples  are  alluded  to  in  chap.  ii.  8,  5, 
vii.  9,  viii.  5  :  and  in  all  the  rest  of  the  Old  Testament  only 
twice.  Lebanon,  with  its  cedars,  seems  to  have  stood  con- 
stantly before  the  mind  of  the  poet  (see  chap.  iii.  9,  iv.  8,  11, 
15,  vii.  5,  i.  17,  viii.  9.)  He  endeavours,  too,  throughout,  to 
enumerate  as  completely  as  possible  in  his  allegorical  picture, 
the  noble  products  in  which  Canaan  was  rich  :  he  shows  also 
a  decided  preference  for  local  comparisons  (see  chap.  vi.  11.) 
An  examination  of  the  points  of  agreement  and  difference 
between  the  sections,  chap.  iii.  1-5  and  chap.  v.  2-8,  also 
confirms  the  unity. 

,The  language  and  style  have  throughout  the  same  colouring: 
the  author  shows  a  strong  preference  for  foreign  elements — 


SONG  OF  SOLOMON,  275 

especially  for  Ai-amaic  elements.  He  regularly  uses  ^  for 
n{j»X,  aud  with  a  frequency  without  parallel  in  the  entire  Old 
Testament,  with  the  exception  of  the  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah  : 
he  uses  the  word  n'»jn,  "  friend,"  (feminine)  of  the  beloved  one  ; 
and  of  this  there  is  no  other  example  :  he  uses  in,  which 
signifies  properly  "  love,"  of  the  "  lover"  (compare  chap.  v.  2, 
4,  6,  and  many  other  passages;  see  also  the  similar  use  of  the 
word  "  love  "  as  a  designation  of  the  "  Beloved  One,"  in  chap, 
ii.  7;  iii.  5-10;  vii.  7.)  This  latter  usage  is  found  elsewhere 
only  in  Isaiah  v.  1,  and  is  there  probably  borrowed  from  the 
Song  of  Songs,  to  which  the  entire  passage,  as  well  as  the 
particular  image  of  the  vineyard,  seems  to  allude. 

After  all  this,  one  may  well  be  surprised  at  the  shortsight- 
edness and  confusion  of  interpreters,  who  could  ever  fail  to  see 
the  unity  of  the  Song  of  Songs,  The  refutation  of  those  who 
maintain  a  "dramatic  progTCss"  can  of  course  only  be  effected 
in  the  course  of  a  commentary.  But  the  mere  fact  that  no 
two  of  the  commentators  who  uphold  this  view,  agi-ee,  even 
in  essential  points,  sufiiciently  wan-ants  the  suspicion  that  the 
"  dramatic  progress"  exists  not  in  the  book  itself,  but  only  in 
the  inventive  fancy  of  its  advocates,  the  traces  of  whose  busy 
activity  any  one  may  discover  who  will  give  his  attention  to 
the  matter.  Delitzsch,  the  most  recent  representative  of  this 
view,  thinks  that  the  goal  of  the  whole  first  part  up  to  chap. 
v.  1  is  the  marriage  union ;  and  that  the  poet  approaches 
gradually  to  this  aim  by  a  series  of  preparatory  steps.  But, 
in  fact,  every  individual  section  of  the  first  part  culminates  in 
the  mamage  union.  Beginning  with  the  very  first,  we  see 
that  each  section  terminates  with  presenting  the  love  of  the 
two  lovers  as  having  attained  full  satisfaction,  and  as  having 
arrived  at  the  very  pitch  of  perfection  (compare  chap.  ii.  6,  iii. 
5.)  If  we  do  justice  to  this  plain  and  evident  fact,  the  notion 
of  a  "  dramatic  progTCSs"  disappears,  and  the  "  drama  not 
intended  for  representation"  becomes  an  empty  fancy. 


II.  THE  AUTHOR  OF  THE  SONG  OF  SONGS. 

The  superscription  to  the  Song  of  Songs  is  decisive  in  favour 
of  the  authorship  of  Solomon.      He  is  expressly  mentioned  in 


270  ,  PEOLEGOMENA  TO  THE 

it  as  the  author.  Suspicion  has  been  thrown  on  the  super- 
scription, because  Tvi'X  is  used  in  it  instead  of  ^^•,  which  else- 
wliere,  throughout  the  whole  book,  is  invariably  employed  : 
but  this  ground  has  no  real  importance.  It  is  at  once  removed 
by  the  simple  observation,  that  a>  belongs  to  poetry,  whereas 
the  superscription  is  written,  at  all  events  formally,  in  prose. 
Positive  arguments  for  the  genuineness  of  the  superscription 
are — I.  Its  enigmatical  and  pregnant  character,  and  that 
mingling  of  description  of  the  subject  and  of  the  author  which 
is  very  probable  and  appropriate  as  emanating  from  the  sacred 
poet  himself,  but  not  as  emanating  from  a  later  glossarist. 
II.  The  circumstance,  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  poem 
there  would  be  no  mention  of  its  subject  if  the  present  super- 
scription be  pronounced  inaccurate. 

The  evidence  in  relation  to  the  author,  furnished  by  the 
superscription,  is  further  confirmed  by  the  marked  connection 
of  the  historical  relations  and  allusions  of  the  book  with  the 
age  of  Solomon.  This  is  most  decided  and  plain  in  such 
passages  as  chap.  iv.  8  ;  vii.  5.  Chapter  vi.  4,  alludes  to  the 
time  previous  to  the  separation  of  the  two  kingdoms.  So 
also  chap.  iv.  1,  where  Jerusalem  appears  as  the  metropolis  of 
Gilead,  as  well  as  of  other  districts.  The  same  period  is  sug- 
gested by  the  mode  in  which  comparisons  are  drawn  promis- 
cuously and  indifferently  from  all  parts  of  the  monarchy  of 
Solomon  and  David,  which  was  evidently  present  to  the  mind 
of  the  poet  as  a  united  whole.  See  for  example  Jerusalem  in 
chap.  iii.  11;  vi.  4  ;  the  Temple  in  chap.  iv.  6  ;  the  tower  of 
David  in  chap.  iv.  4  ;  Engedi  in  chap.  i.  14  ;  Sharon  in  chap, 
ii.  1 ;  the  valley  of  the  Jordan  in  chap.  ii.  1  ;  Thirzah  in  chap, 
vi.  4  ;  Gilead  in  chap.  iv.  J  ;  Heshbon  in  chap.  vii.  5  ;  Carmel 
in  chap.  vii.  6  ;  Lebanon  and  Hermon  in  chap.  iv.  8. 

Tlie  age  of  Solomon  is  further  suggested  by  the  whole  style 
and  character  of  the  work.  Kleuker  says,  in  his  work  on  the 
Song  of  Songs  (page  1 8),  "  the  whole  feeling,  the  whole  tone 
of  the  book,  and  its  manner,  which  is  in  part  splendid,  and  in 
part  beautiful  and  natural,  lead  us  at  once  to  think  of  the 
writer  as  belonging  to  the  most  flourishing  period  of  the  He- 
brew constitution  and  history."  Dopke  thinks  that  "  the  fresh 
and  vigorous  mind  of  a  poet,  who  lived  in  free  and  flourishing 
times,  to  whose  imagination  a  full  supply  of  lovely  and  smil- 


SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  277 

ing  images  presented  itself  unsought,"  expresses  itself  in  tlie 
Song  of  Songs. 

The  cheerful  sunshine  of  the  age  of  Solomon  in-adiates  even 
those  portions  which  are  in  themselves  obscure  and  dark  : 
whereas  even  in  the  most  joyous  and  exultant  songs  of  a  later 
period,  the  clouds,  through  which  the  light  penetrates,  are  dis- 
tinctly visible — the  countenance  radiant  with  gladness  shows 
traces  of  the  tears  which  had  been  shed  shortly  before. 

The  entire  course  of  the  thought  of  the  poem  could  only 
have  taken  its  rise  in  an  age  like  that  of  Solomon.  Even  for 
such  pastime  as  may  be  called  sacred  (and  such  is  presented 
to  us  in  the  Song  of  Songs),  there  is  no  desire  in  times  when 
misery  presses  heavily  on  the  soul.  Men  then  seek  consola- 
tion and  strength  as  directly  as  possible  from  God.  The  pas- 
sage, Jeremiah  xxv.  1 0,  "  And  I  take  from  them  the  voice  of 
mirth  and  the  voice  of  gladness,  the  voice  of  the  bridegroom, 
and  the  voice  of  the  bride,"  (compare  chap.  vii.  34  ;  xvi.  9), 
may  be  the  more  appropriately  adduced  in  the  present  con- 
nection, as  this  book  implies  that  at  the  time  of  its  composi- 
tion songs  of  love  even  of  the  lower  sort  flourished  in  Israel. 
The  Song  of  Songs  is  essentially  a  transformation  of  poetry — 
it  is  a  noble  growth  of  the  spirit  grafted  on  the  wild  stem  of 
worldly  love-songs. 

The  account  given  of  itself  by  the  Song  of  Songs  receives 
further  confirmation  from  the  fact  that  the  mental  and  other 
peculiar  characteristics  of  Solomon  reappear  in  it.  It  breathes 
the  high  and  lofty  spirit  attributed  to  Solomon  in  1  Kings  v. 
9  K 

The  title  given  to  the  book  is  "the  Song  of  Songs"  :— now 
we  find  it  reported  in  the  Books  of  Kings  that  Solomon  was  the 
author  of  numerous  songs,  D''"i''B^.  This  account  alone  shows, 
with  suificient  clearness,  that  Solomon  may  not,  as  some  who 
have  but  one  measure  for  all  minds  would  have  it,  be  limited 
to  one  sphere, — to  that,  namely,  of  wise  sayings,  whose  char- 
acter is  not  at  all  that  of  songs,  to  which  it  is  essential  that 
they  be  sung.  The  assumption  just  alluded  to,  fails  utterly 
of  agreement  with  aU  in  the  historical  books,  that  bears  witness 
to  the  universality  of  Solomon's  genius.  The  Song  of  Songs 
could  only  have  been  written  by  a  man  whose  experiences  in 
connection  with  earthly  love  had  been  such  as  Solomon's. 


278  PROLEGOMENA  TO  THE 

History,  testifies  to  Solomon's  pleasure  in  gardens.  In 
Ecclesiastes  ii.  4-6,  we  read,  "  I  planted  me  vineyards.  I  made 
me  gardens  and  pleasure-gardens  (D''D'nD),  and  planted  tliem 
with  trees  of  every  kind  of  fruit.  I  made  me  pools  of  water 
to  water  therewith  the  shooting  forest  of  trees."  Here  we 
have  the  natural  gToundwork  of  the  allegorical  description  of 
nature  contained  in  the  Song  of  Songs.*  Vineyards  are  men- 
tioned again  in  chap.  i.  6,  1 6  ;  ii.  ]  5  ;  vii.  1 3  ;  viii.  1 1  ;•'  and 
the  allusion  to  the  vineyard  of  heavenly  Solomon  at  Baaljiia- 
mon  is  clearly  based  on  an  actually  existing  type.  Gardens. are- 
mentioned  in  chap.  iv.  12-15  ;  v,  1,  13  ;  vi.  2,  11  :  pleasure- 
gardens  in  chap.  iv.  1 3  :  fruit-trees  in  chap.  iv.  1 3,  16;  ii.|l3  ; 
vi,  11  :  and  water-pools  in  chap.  vii.  5,  with  which  compear©' 
chap.  iv.  12,  15  ;  vi.  11. 

But  Solomon's  feeling  for  nature  did  not  show  itself  merelj' 
in  the  pleasure  he  took  in  gardens.  Accordmg  to  1  King-s 
iv.  3  3,  "  he  discoursed  concerning  trees,  from  the  cedar  of 
Lebanon  to  the  hyssop  that  grows  out  of  the  wall ;  and  he 
discoursed  on  cattle  and  birds  and  creeping  things  and  of 
fishes  :"  that  is,  undoubtedly,  in  the  proverbs  and  songs  pre- 
viously mentioned.     The  whole  context  forbids  us  to  suppose 


*  This  probably  still  remains  even  for  the  physical  eye.  Eitter  says  in  his 
Erdkunde,  Th.  16,  1  S.  280,  "The  blessing  which  everywhere  in  the  East  the 
system  of  irrigation  dift'uses  over  the  land  is  seen  in  peculiar  fulness  in  the 
Paradisaic  Etham,  the  now  narrow,  but  yet  lovely,  valley  of  Wadi  Urtas.  This, 
in  all  probability,  was  the  garden  of  Solomon  so  rich  in  pools  of  water,  which  is 
described  in  the  Song  of  Songs  as  a  pleasure-garden  with  the  noblest  fruit  trees, 
and  in  tlie  legends,  as  a  walled  garden  planted  by  Solomon.  Josephus,  in  his 
description  of  Solomon's  buildings,  magnificence  and  glory,  narrates  how  the 
king  was  a  lover  of  horses  and  chariots  (then  remarkable  objects  in  Judea),  and 
how  he  often,  early  in  the  morning,  at  break  of  day,  to  refresh  himself,  drove  in 
a  high  chariot,  surrounded  by  halberdiers  of  his  life  guard  in  gorgeous  attire, 
with  gold  powdered  hair,  to  his  lovely  garden  of  Etham,  distant  from  Jerusalem 
about  two  schoeni  (see  Josephus'  Antiquities,  viii.  7, 3). — Robinson  was  cheered  to 
find  here  that  rarity  in  Palestine,  a  murmuring  brook :  Wilson's  feeling  was  that 
the  valleys  above  and  below  the  Solomonic  pools  of  water  must,  in  consequence 
of  the  irrigation  of  their  gardens  and  fields,  have  offered  a  lovely  retreat  to  the 
citizens  of  Jerusalem  who  took  pleasure  in,  and  sought,  the  silence,  solitude  and 
beauty  of  nature,  v.  Schubert  also,  visiting  this  valley  in  March  1837,  found 
the  cherry  and  apricot  trees  in  full  blossom,  and  heard  the  turtle  doves  cooing  in 
the  groves.  In  March  1843  again,  "Wilson  was  strongly  reminded  by  the  beauty 
of  the  opening  spring,  of  the  descriptions  given  in  the  Song  of  Songs  (chap.  ii. 
11,  13),  and  was  deeply  moved  by  the  evidences  of  the  poet's  truth  to  nature 
presented  by  his  own  native  land." 


SONG  OF  SOLOMOX.  279 

that  formal  treatises  on  natural  history  are  referred  to  ;  Solo- 
mon's wisdom  being  the  only  subject  touched  upon  both  before 
and  after.*  Now  this  peculiarity  exists  not  only  in  Proverbs, 
but  equally  in  the  Song  of  Songs.  Repeated  mention  is  made 
of  the  cedars  of  Lebanon  ;  and  along  with  them  of  cypresses 
(chap.  i.  17),  and  of  palms  (chap.  vii.  7.)  From  that  height, 
tlie  figurative  contemplation  of  the  world  of  plants  descends 
to  the  liHes,  and  to  the  thorns  amongst  which  they  gi'ow  (chap, 
ii.  2)  ;  to  the  myiTh  and  the  camphire  (chap.  i.  13,  14);  to 
the  mandrakes  (chap.  vii.  1 3) ;  and  finally  to  the  whole  floral 
and  vegetable  world  (chap.  iv.  13,  14).  Of  the  four-footed 
animals  mention  is  made  of  horses  in  chap.  i.  9  ;  of  sheep  and 
kids  in  chap.  i.  7,  8  (compare  iv.  1,2);  of  hinds  and  roes  in 
chap.  ii.  7,  9,  17  ;  iii.  5  ;  viii.  14  ;  of  foxes  in  chap.  ii.  15  ; 
and  of  lions  and  leopards  in  chap.  iv.  8.  Among  birds,  besides 
to  doves,  allusion  is  also  made  to  turtle  doves  (chap.  ii.  12), 
and  to  the  raven  (chap.  v.  11).  There  is  not  a  book  in  the 
whole  of  the  Scriptures  which  contains  in  so  brief  a  space  so 
many  allusions  to  natural  objects.  The  point  of  most  import- 
ance, however  is  that  all  these  references  to  nature  are  made 
in  the  service  of  wisdom, — that  they  are  so  many  touches  in 
the  allegorical  picture  of  the  experiences  and  course  of  the 
Church  of  God.  All  nature  is  as  it  were  turned  into  spirit. 
Whoso  has  made  the  Song  of  Songs  a  part  of  his  very  flesh 
and  blood,  must  look  on  nature  with  other  eyes.  Even  the 
human  body  is  glorified  in  this  poem. 

Solomon  "  built  houses,"  we  read  in  Ecclesiastes  ii.  4.  Tlie 
manner  in  which  he  carried  out  his  artistic  ideas  in  the  erec- 
tion of  great  buildings  is  set  forth  in  detail  in  1  Kings  vi.,  vii. 
His  taste  for  art  shows  itself  in  various  ways  in  the  Song  of 
Songs.  We  may  adduce,  for  example,  the  references  made  to 
the  carpets  of  Solomon,  (chap.  i.  5  ;)  to  his  chains  and  laces, 
(chap.  i.  10,  11  ;)  to  his  houses,  whose  beams  were  of  cedar 
and  whose  floors  were  of  cypress,  (chap.  i.  17;)  to  the  bridal 
cliariot  made  of  the  wood  of  Lebanon,  the  pillars  whereof  were 
silver,  the  back  gold,  and  the  seat  of  purple,  (chap.  iii.  10,  11;) 
to  the  rings  of  gold  and  torquoises,  and  the  bright  ivory  over- 
laid with  sapphires,  (chap.  v.  14;)  to  the  pillars  of  marble  set 

*  Even  Josejihus  recognised  this  :  see  his  Arch.  viii.  2,  5, 


280  PEOLEGOMENA  TO  THE 

in  sockets 'of  gold,  (chap.  v.  15  ;)  to  the  ornaments,  the  work 
of  the  hands  of  the  master- workman,  (chap.  vii.  2  ;)  to  the 
tower  of  ivory,  (chap.  vii.  5  ;)  and  to  the  palace  of  silver 
(chap.  viii.  9.) 

That  which  we  have  above  exhibited  in  detail  was  hinted 
at  by  Kleuker  in  the  following  words — "  let  any  one  compare 
the  accounts  of  Solomon's  loves  in  the  historical  books,  the 
taste  for  nature  and  magnificence  displayed  in  all  his  thoughts 
and  delineations  thereof,  and  evidenced  in  his  other  remains, 
and  it  will  be  difiicult  to  conceive  that  any  other  than  he 
wrote  the  Song  of  Songs." 

Tlie  testimony  in  favour  of  the  authorship  of  Solomon  given 
by  the  superscription  is  further  confirmed  by  the  agi-eement 
between  the  Song  of  Songs  and  other  of  Solomon's  productions. 
Foremost  mention  in  this  connection  is  deserved  by  Psalm 
Ixxii.  This  Psalm  agrees  with  the  Song  of  Songs,  in  showing 
that  Solomon  occupied  his  mind  earnestly  with  the  Messianic 
hopes  of  his  nation. 

Throughout  the  whole  of  the  Song  of  Songs,  Messiah  is  en- 
titled Solomon,  and  the  daughter  of  Sion  Sulamith,  (chap.  vii. 
1  ;)  and  her  finding  of  peace,  by  means  of  the  heavenly  Solo- 
mon is  represented  as  the  very  height  of  happiness  and  well- 
being,  (chap.  viii.  1  0.)  In  perfect  agreement  with  this  is  the 
special  stress  laid  on  the  peace  to  be  brought  by  Messiah,  in 
Psalm  Ixxii.  Nowhere  is  peace  as  a  characteristic  feature  of 
the  Messianic  period,  alluded  to  with  such  force  and  distinct- 
ness as  in  the  two  Messianic  descriptions,  headed — "  By  Solo- 
mon," the  man  of  peace,  whose  peaceful  reign  foreshadowed 
Christ's  Kingdom  of  peace. 

In  Psalm  Ixxii.  we  are  expressly  told  that  the  kingdom  of 
that  great  king,  in  contrast  to  that  of  his  predecessors,  will 
extend  over  the  whole  earth,  that  all  kings  will  fall  down 
before  him,  and  all  peoples  serve  him.  This  universality  of 
the  Kingdom  of  Christ  is  emphatically  referred  to  in  the  Song 
of  Songs.  For  example,  at  the  very  commencement  we  read, 
(chap.  i.  3,)  "therefore  do  the  virgins  love  thee;" — by  the 
image  of  the  virgins  we  are  to  understand  the  nations,  which 
are  to  be  received  into  the  Kingdom  of  Christ.  In  chap.  i.  5, 
as  well  as  in  a  number  of  other  passages,  mention  is  made  of 
the  daughters  of  Jerusalem,  that  is,  of  the  heathen   nations 


SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  281 

who,  in  the  day  of  redemption,  will  unite  themselves  to  the 
Israelitish  mother  Church.  In  chap.  iii.  9-11,  a  description  is 
given  of  the  marriage  of  the  heavenly  Solomon  with  a  host  of 
lovely  virgins.  "  There  are  three-score  queens,  and  four-score 
concubines,  and  virgins  without  number,"  we  read  in  chap.  vi. 
8.  This  is,  in  a  symbolical  form,  exactly  the  same  as  that 
which  is  said  more  literally  in  Psalm  Ixxii.,  "  and  he  rules  from 
sea  to  sea,  and  from  the  river  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  And 
all  kings  worship  him,  and  all  Gentiles  serve  him." 

Particular  points  of  coincidence  between  the  two,  are  further, 
the  mention  of  the  cedars  of  Lebanon,  (see  Psalm  Ixxii.  16,) 
and  the  very  emphatic  allusions  to  shooting  out  and  flourishing, 
(Psalm  Ixxii.  3,  7,  16.) 

Owing  to  the  peculiarity  of  the  purpose  Solomon  intended 
the  Proverbs  to  serve,  and  of  the  species  of  literature  to  which 
they  belong,  the  points  of  contact  between  that  book  and  the 
Song  of  Songs,  are  necessarily  fewer  than  between  this  latter 
and  Psalm  Ixxii.  Common  to  both,  however,  is  the  pre- 
ference shown  for  imagery  and  enigma,  and  in  a  peculiar 
degTee  for  detailed  personification  and  allegorical  descriptions. 
This  is  a  very  marked  feature  of  the  Proverbs,  whenever  the 
subject  under  consideration  is  wisdom  and  folly.  A  whole 
series  of  separate  and  highly  characteristic  resemblances  might 
further  be  adduced.  See  especially  Proverbs  i.  9,  compared 
with  chap.  iv.  9  ;  Prov.  i.  28,  compared  with  chap.  v.  6  ; 
Prov.  V.  15-18,  compared  with  chap.  iv.  12  ;  Prov.  v.  18,  19, 
compared  with  chap.  iv.  5  ;  Prov.  vi.  30,  31,  compared  with 
chap.  viii.  7  ;  Prov.  ix.  5,  compared  with  chap.  vii.  3  ;  Prov. 
xvi.  24,  compared  with  chap.  iv.  11  ;  Prov.  xx.  13,  compared 
with  chap.  v.  2^;  Prov.  xxiii.  31,  compared  with  chap.  vii.  10; 
Prov.  XXV.  1 1 ,  compared  with  chap.  i.  1 1  ;  Prov.  xxv.,  com- 
pared with  chap.  vii.  2.  It  is  quite  clear  that  these  resem- 
blances are  not  limited  to  chapters  i.-ix.,  which  some  wi'iters, 
carried  away  by  mere  presuppositions,  wish  to  separate  from 
Solomon's  disconnected  sayings,  and  refer  to  a  later  period; 
but  are  found  throughout  the  whole  of  that  portion  of  the 
Book  of  Proverbs  which  the  supersci'iptions  attribute  to 
Solomon. 

The  testimony  of  the  superscription  to  Solomon  as  the 
author  is  finally  confirmed  by  the  reference  to  the  Song  of 


282  PROLEGOMENA  TO  THE 

Songs  found  in  the  oldest  prophets,  specially  in  Hosea.  See 
also  Joel  iii.  3  ;  Obadiah  ver.  5  ;  and  Isaiah  v.  1,  where 
we  not  only  find  a  use  of  in  quite  peculiar  to  this  book,  and 
representations  of  higher  love  under  the  image  of  the  lower, 
but  also  the  symbol  of  the  vineyard  to  describe  the  Church. 
A  further  confirmation,  is,  that  Psalm  xlv,  which  belongs  to 
an  early  period,  presupposes  the  existence  of  the  Song  of 
Songs,  and  is  evidently  a  compendium  thereof* 

We  have  the  less  reason  for  rejecting  the  testimony  afforded 
by  the  superscription,  confirmed  as  it  is  on  all  hands,  because 
the  character  of  the  Song  of  Songs  would  alone  naturally  lead 
us  to  expect  it  not  to  ])e  anonymous.  As  a  general  i-ule, 
which  has  of  course  its  exceptions,  in  those  spheres  where 
individuality  is  allowed  free  play,  (which,  both  in  sacred  his- 
tory, and  in  those  Psalms  which  their  authors  wrote  as  the 
interpreters  of  the  sorrows  and  joys  of  the  whole  nation,  is 
less  the  case  than  elsewhere,)  anonyraousness  and  mediocrity 
go  hand  in  hand.  The  less  comprehensive  the  literature,  and 
the  naiTower  the  compass  of  the  land,  the  less  frequently 
should  we  expect  men  in  Israel  to  write  anonymously. 

Kleuker  says,  (page  1 9,)  "  a  common  author  could  not  by 
any  means  here  remain  concealed.  In  order  to  ^vritings  being- 
received  into  the  collection  of  sacred  and  honoured  books,  they 
were  required  to  be  produced  by  authors  whose  names  were 
revered,  admired,  and  loved.  If  this  were  only  rightly  con- 
sidered, the  period  of  and  after  the  captivity  would  not  be 
made  to  seem  so  fruitful  in  the  greatest  literary  works  com- 
posed by  Jews.  Many  works  referred  by  an  evil  intention  to 
this  period,  one  might  sooner  expect  to  have  been  rained 
direct  from  heaven."  Many  an  objection  might  of  course  be 
urged  to  the  above  remarks,  but  still  so  much  is  clear  from 
them,  that  there  is  no  reason  for  erasing  the  celebrated  name 
which  stands  at  the  head  of  the  Song  of  Songs. 

The  arguments  advanced  against  Solomon's  authorship  can- 
not in  the  least  pretend  to  outweigh  those  advanced  in  its 
favour. 

Special  stress  has  been  laid  on  the  objection  from  the  lan- 
guage.     The  main  thing  in  this  connection  is  the  frequent 

*  For  additional  remarks  see  the  Prolegomenon  on  the  Interpretation  of  the 
Song  of  Songs. 


SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  283 

employment  of  ^  for  '\lt^)^.  But  that  this  is  rather  inten- 
tional than  the  result  of  the  influence  of  the  usage  of  his  age 
on  the  author  is  clear,  for  the  two  following  reasons  :  1.  In 
the  superscription  which  is  written  in  prose  we  find  "ICN  em- 
ployed :  2.  "ii:^K  does  not  once  occur  in  the  whole  book.  The 
only  satisfactory  way  to  explain  this,  is  to  say  that  the  writer 
intentionally  avoided  it.  In  no  other  instance  in  which  an 
author  was  determined  to  the  use  of  ^  by  the  custom  of  his 
time,  is  it  so  exclusively  employed  as  in  this  book. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  ^  can  in  no  sense  be  taken  as 
a  guide  in  the  determination  of  the  time  of  the  composition 
of  the  Song  of  Songs.  The  following  is  a  probable  explana- 
tion of  the  usage  referi-ed  to.  As  is  now  universally  acknow- 
ledged, tr  was  used  for  n^x,  even  before  the  days  of  Solomon, 
though  only  scatteredly.  In  his  mode  of  employing  the  word 
here,  Solomon  followed  the  example  of  the  Phenicians  "  in 
quorum  reliquiis,"  as  Gesenius  observes  in  his  Thesaurus, 
"omnis  aetatis  nC'X  nunquam,  ^  perssepereperitur."  Poetry  in 
general  betrays  a  preference  for  that  which  is  foreign,  rare, 
and  removed  from  the  intercourse  of  common  life.*  The  uni- 
versalistic  character  of  Solomon's  tendencies,  and  the  compre- 
hensiveness of  his  mind,  must  have  inclined  him  strongly  to 
this  habit.  The  introduction  of  foreign  words  into  sacred 
poetry  stands  on  the  same  footing  with  his  employment  of 
Hiram,  the  artist  of  Tyre,  for  his  sacred  works,  (1  Kings  vii. 
13,  14.)  Further,  the  nature  of  the  subject  of  the  Song  of 
Songs  gave  special  occasion  to  this  usage  in  two  ways.  It 
followed  in  the  train  of,  and  presupposed  worldly  love-songs  ; 
a  species  of  poetry  which  was  undoubtedly  cultivated  with 
peculiar  zeal  by  the  surrounding  heathen  nations.  It  would 
therefore  very  readily  occur  to  the  author  to  indicate  this  con- 
nection between  his  own  and  preceding  compositions,  by  the 
style  in  which  he  wrote.  Besides,  the  endeavour  after  uni- 
versality of  style  and  language,  suits  admirably  the  universal- 
istic  character  of  the  subject  of  the  poem. 

What  we  have  observed  in  regard  to  B>,  holds  good  concem- 


*  Tliis  will  explain  the  use  of  ^  in  the  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah,  as  well  as 
its  absence  both  from  the  Prophecies,  and  from  the  more  rhetorical,  than  poet- 
ical, Proverbs  of  Solomon. 


284  PROLEGOMENA  TO  THE 

ing  the  otlier  foreign  elements  which  occur  in  the  book,  and 
which  either  have  been  or  may  be  adduced,  as  telling  against 
Solomon's  authorship.  Of  this  kind  are,  for  example,  I^DTIT 
and  D^nna,  in  chap.  i.  17;  "iSJ?  in  chap.  ii.  9,  and  elsewhere  ; 
ino  in  chap.  ii.  11 ;  inDD  in  chap.  ii.  13,  15,  vii.  13  ;  pi-iDi<  in 
chap.  iii.  9  ;  DTiS  in  chap.  iv.  13;  D''t2m  in  chap.  vii.  6  ;  and, 
considering  the  narrow  limits,  relatively  much  besides.  Two 
considerations  show  that  the  author  was  not  merely  influenced 
by  the  tendency  to  Aramaic  forms  and  idioms  characteristic  of 
a  later  period,  but  acted  from  intention  and  free  choice.  They 
are  these  : — I.  With  the  exception  of  ^  scarcely  any  form  is 
used  which  reappears  in  the  usage  of  a  later  period;  on  the 
contrary,  the  foreign  elements  are  almost  entirely  peculiar  to 
tlie  Song  of  Songs.  II.  The  language  has  a  youthful  fresh- 
ness, such  as  is  to  be  found  in  none  of  the  productions  of  the 
age  of  the  decline  of  the  Jewish  nation. 

Other  grounds  against  the  authorship  of  Solomon  can  only 
be  regarded  as  argumenta  ad  hominem,  having  force  only 
against  those  who  have  wandered  away  from  the  true  method 
of  interpretation.  To  defend  the  authorship  of  Solomon, 
whilst  at  the  same  time  we  give  up  the  allegorical  interpreta- 
tion, and  see  not  that  the  Solomon  of  the  Song  of  Songs  is  the 
heavenly  Solomon,  is  a  fruitless  task.  With  perfect  justice  it 
is  remarked  by  Dopke  (page  25)  :  "  Every  one  who  reads 
chap.  iii.  6,  11,  and  chap.  viii.  11,  12,  with  an  unprejudiced 
mind,  must  at  once  see  that  Solomon  could  not  speak  in  such 
a  manner  respecting  himself"  This  remark  is  still  more  appli- 
cable to  chap.  V.  10-16.  Taken  as  self-praise,  this  passage  is 
utterly  incomprehensible,  and  in  vain  does  Delitzsch  attempt 
to  make  it  comprehensible.  But  if  the  Solomon  of  the  poem 
is  the  heavenly  Solomon,  then  we  may  apply  the  words  of 
Keil,  in  his  continuation  of  Havernick's  Introduction  (page 
474) :  "  Unquestionably  Solomon  had  as  perfect  right  to  praise 
in  song  the  love  of  this  king,  as  he  had  to  magnify  his  hing- 
dom  of  pecice  in  Psalm  Ixxii." 


SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  285 


III.   THE  HISTORICAL  CIRCUMSTANCES  IN  WHICH 
THE  SONG  OF  SONGS  ORIGINATED. 

Our  task  here  is,  to  show  that  the  Song  of  Songs  does  not 
rest  on  air,  is  not  a  mere  work  of  the  imagination,  but  that 
its  contents  are  connected  at  many  points  with  the  circum- 
stances and  peculiarities  of  the  time  in  it  which  was  composed. 

As  has  been  abeady  observed,  the  book  falls  into  two  main 
divisions, — the  one,  the  union ;  the  other,  the  re-union. 

The  following  are  the  principal  points  of  the  first  division, 
which  extends  from  chap.  i.  1 — v.  1  : — I.  The  blessed  appear- 
ance of  Messiah  bringing  gladness  and  grace:  II.  That  this 
Messiah  bears  the  name,  Solomon :  III.  That  severe  tribular- 
tions  and  woes,  which  consist  especially  in  the  reduction  of 
the  people  of  God  to  bondage  by  the  powers  of  the  world,  and 
are  the  deserved  reward  of  their  unfaithfulness,  will  precede 
the  appearance  of  Messiah  (compare  chap.  i.  5,  6,  7,  8  ;  ii. 
8-17),  These  sufferings  are  represented  under  the  images  of 
sunburning  (chap.  i.  6),  of  winter  and  rain  (chap.  ii.  11),  of 
dark  nights  (chap.  iii.  1),  and  of  the  desert  (chap.  iii.  6).  Ac- 
cording to  chap.  iii.  1-3,  they  are  aggravated  by  the  efforts  of 
the  nation  to  help  itself,  and  to  hasten  forward  the  Messianic 
redemption  by  the  means  in  its  o^vn  hand.  IV.  That  with 
the  appearance  of  Messiah  is  connected  the  reception  of  the 
heathen  nations  into  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  through  the  in- 
tervention of  the  ancient  covenanted  people.  Of  this  last  con- 
sideration, the  hint  is  given  us  in  the  words,  "  the  daughters 
of  Jenisalem." 

The  subject  of  the  second  division  is,  firstly,  the  sin  against 
the  heavenly  Solomon,  and  the  judgment  with  which  it  is 
visited,  secondly,  the  repentance  and  re-union  brought  about 
with  the  co-operation  of  the  very  daughters  to  whom  Jerusa- 
lem herself,  the  mother,  had  previously  brought  salvation, — 
the  com])lete  re-establishment  of  the  old  relation  of  love,  hav- 
ing as  its  consequence  the  re-occupation  of  the  central  position 
in  the  kingdom  of  God  by  the  daughter  of  Zion,  and  the  in- 
violableness  of  the  newly  formed  covenant  of  love,  in  contrast 
to  the  mutability  of  the  more  ancient  one. 

Now,   every  point  of  the  first  di\dsion  may  be  shown  to 


286  PEOLEGOMENA  TO  THE 

have  a  basis  in  the  historical  circumstances  of  the  age  of  Solo- 
mon. I.  How  hvely  was  the  expectation  of  a  personal  Mes- 
siah, even  in  the  days  of  Solomon,  we  may  learn  from  the 
personal  Messianic  Psalms  of  David  (ii.,  ex.),  from  that  of  Solo- 
mon (Ixxii.),  and  in  like  manner  also  from  that  of  the  Kora- 
hites  (xlv.),  which  belongs  probably  to  the  time  of  Solomon. 
The  historical  foundation  of  this  expectation  was  the  promise 
made  by  Jacob  in  Genesis  xlix.  10:  "  The  sceptre  will  not 
depart  from  Judah,  nor  a  lawgiver  from  between  his  feet,  until 
Shiloh  come,  and  the  nations  cleave  unto  him."  This  saying, 
combined  with  the  prophetical  announcement  of  the  everlast- 
ing endurance  of  the  reign  of  David's  line,  in  2  Samuel  vii., 
constituted  a  complete  objective  basis  and  support  for  the  sub- 
jective poetical  representations  of  the  Psalmists.  By  2  Samuel 
vii.  the  eternity  of  dominion  promised  to  Judah,  in  Genesis 
xHx.,  was  transferred  to  David.  To  David's  race,  therefore, 
must  belong  that  exalted  person,  in  whom,  according  to  Gene- 
sis xlix.,  the  power  of  Judah  was  destined  to  reach  its  cul- 
minating point.  II.  The  name,  Solomon,  accords  completely 
with  the  contents  of  Psalm  Ixxii.,  which  sets  Messiah  before 
us  as  the  true  Prince  shadowed  forth  in  the  imperfect  type  of 
Solomon,  and  His  kingdom  as  the  dominion  of  righteousness 
and  peace.  Light  is,  for  the  first  time,  thrown  on  the  use  of 
this  name  as  a  designation  of  Christ,  when  we  understand  how 
it  came  to  be  given  to  Solomon  himself  As  we  have  remarked 
in  another  place,  "  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  David  gave  his 
son  Solomon  this  name,  because  he  hoped  that  his  reign  of  right- 
eousness and  peace  would  prove  a  type  of  the  reign  of  Shiloh, 
even  as  under  Solomon  there  was  the  first  splendid  fulfilment 
of  what  Jacob  had  prophesied  respecting  the  lion-like  spirit 
and  power  of  Judah,  respecting  his  sceptre  and  lawgiver. 
Here  we  have  the  counterpart  to  the  fact,  that  the  children  of 
Israel,  immediately  after  taking  possession  of  the  land,  gave 
to  the  seat  of  their  sanctuary  the  name  Shiloh.*  Both  the 
name   Solomon  and  the  facts  of  his   history  remind   us   of 

*  In  the  first  passage  in  which  Shiloh  occurs  as  the  name  of  a  place,  we  find 
the  complete  phrase,  "  Thaanath  Shilo;"  that  is,  "  the  futui-e  or  the  advent  of 
the  Shiloh."  The  subjection  of  the  land,  the  rest  which  the  Lord  had  given  His 
people  from  all  who  were  round  about  them,  they  considered  to  be  a  pledge  and  a 
prelude  of  the  obedience  of  the  nations  generally,  and  of  the  perfect  peace  to  be 
established  on  the  appearance  of  the  Shiloh. 


SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  287 

Shiloli.  As  to  the  name,  we  may  remark,  that  tliree  out  of  the 
four  letters  composing  the  word  Solomon  are  common  to  it 
and  Shiloh.  The  meaning  is  exactly  the  same.  So  also  the 
form.  Both  in  Solomon  (strictly  Salomo)  and  in  Shiloh*  the 
terminal  3  is  rejected, — a  thing  which  very  rarely  occurs. 
In  Ewald's  Grammar  (see  §  163)  Solomon  and  Shiloh  are  set 
in  the  closest  juxtaposition.  As  respects  the  agreement  of  the 
facts  of  his  history  with  the  name  Shiloh,  we  may  refer  to 
1  Chron.  xxii.  9,  where  Nathan  says  to  David,  "  Behold  a  son 
is  born  t»  thee,  who  will  be  a  man  of  rest,  and  I  give  him  rest 
from  all  his  enemies  round  about,  for  his  name  will  be  Solo- 
mon, and  peace  and  quietness  will  I  give  to  Israel  in  his  days." 
See  also  1  Kings  v.  4,  where  Solomon  says  to  Hiram,  "  And 
now  hath  the  Lord  my  God  given  me  rest  on  every  side,  so  that 
there  is  neither  adversary  nor  evil  occurrent:"  Lastly,  compare 
1  Kings  iv.  24 — "  He  had  dominion  over  all  the  region  on 
this  side  the  river,  from  Tiphsah  even  to  Gaza,  over  all  the 
kings  on  this  side  the  river,  and  had  peace  from  all  his  ser- 
vants round  about.  And  Judah  and  Israel  dwelt  safely,  every 
man  under  his  vine  and  under  his  fig-tree,  from  Dan  even  to 
Beersheba,  all  the  days  of  Solomon." 

"  But  if  any  doubt  whatever  should  yet  remain,  in  respect 

*  That  Shilo  is  abbreviated  from  Shilon,  we  should  judge,  not  only  from  the 
nomen  gentile  '•jp'^L^  (1  Kings  xi.  29),  but  from  the  fact,  that  the  ruins  of  the 
city  which  received  its  name  from  the  Shilo  in  this  passage,  are  still  called 
"  Seilun."  Josephus  also  writes  "Selun,"  as  well  as  "Silo"  (See  Robinson's 
Travels :  there  is,  finally,  the  analogj'  of  the  name  Solomon,  or  Salomo.  The 
shortening  of  on  into  0  only  takes  place  in  proper  names,  the  meaning  of  whose 
derivative  suffix  is  a  matter  of  comparative  indifference.  (See  Tuch's  just  re- 
marks). The  only  apparent  exception  is  the  word  m3S  "  Hell,"  in  Prov.  xxvii. 
20 :  but  this  is  not  a  real  conception,  for  both  there  and  elsewhere  "  Hell"  is 
frequently  personified  (see  Apocalypse  xx.  13).  This  case,  however,  shows 
clearly  that  the  proper  names  of  Scripture  must  not  be  judged  as  our  own  are 
judged,  but  that  a  wider  sphere  is  assigned  to  them.  The  Samaritan  translator 
rightly  retained  the  word  Shiloh.  As  in  this  passage  we  first  meet  with  the  per- 
son of  the  Redeemer,  so  is  Shiloh  His  first  name, — a  name  quite  expressive  of 
His  nature,  corresponding  to  the  names  in  Isaiah  ix.  .'5,  and  to  the  name  Iramanuel 
in  Isaiah  vii.  14.  In  investigating  the  meaning  of  the  name  we  mr.st  bear  in 
mind  that  the  termination  on  is  used  to  form  adjectiva  and  ahstractn  (see  Ewald, 
§  163).  That  the  form  here  has  an  adjectival  significance,  we  should  conclude 
from  the  analogy  of  the  name  Salomo,  which  is  formed  on  the  same  model.  Like 
Solomon,  Shiloh  designates  the  "  man  of  rest,"  thus  corresponding  to  the  title 
"  Prince  of  Peace,"  found  in  Isaiah  ix.  5.  Regarding  it  merely  as  a  nomen 
projjrium,  it  is  equivalent  to  the  German  name  "  Friedrich." 


288  PROLEGOMENA  TO  THE 

to  the  tyjiical  relation  existing  between  Shlomo  (Solomon)  and 
Shilo  (Shiloh),  it  will  be  set  aside  by  Psalm  Ixxii.  Any  fancy 
that  Solomon  might  possibly  prove  to  be  more  than  a  type, 
that  he  might  himself  be  the  Shiloh,  was  condemned  by  that 
Psalm,  as  also  by  David  in  his  Messianic  Psalms.  In  perfect 
agreement  with  the  words  of  our  Lord,  in  Matthew  xii.  42, 
"  Here  is  a  greater  than  Solomon,"  Solomon,  in  Psalm  Ixxii., 
teaches  men  to  look  out  beyond  himself  His  own  i-ule  of 
righteousness  and  peace  he  regards  as  a  type  of  the  kingdom 
of  the  Prince  of  Peace,  v/ho,  by  his  righteousness  and  love, 
will  gain  dominion  over  the  world,  whom  all  kings  will  re- 
verence, and  all  the  heathen  serve.  Our  attention  is  directed 
to  the  close  connection  between  this  psalm  and  Genesis  xlix., 
even  in  Ezekiel  xxi.  27,  where  the  words,  "till  he  come  whose 
right  it  is ;  to  him  I  give  it,"  are  borrowed  verbatim  from 
these  two  passages :  the  words,  "  right,"  and  "  to  him  I  give 
it,"  from  the  latter.  Combining  both  passages,  we  see  that 
they  are  intimately  connected,  and  that  Psalm  Ixxii.  may  be 
regarded  in  the  light  of  a  commentary."  If  Solomon,  then, 
derived  his  name  from  Christ,  it  is  natural  enough  that  he 
should  transfer  his  own  name  again  to  Christ.  III.  We 
should  almost  inevitably  expect  severe  tribulations  to  precede 
the  appearance  of  Christ,  especially  when  it  is  considered  that 
every  gTcat  saving  step  in  the  earlier  history  of  the  people  of 
God  has  been  prepared  and  ushered  in  by  sore  sufferings.  We 
may  mention,  for  example,  the  troubles  in  Egypt,  the  fore- 
runners of  the  covenant  given  by  Moses ;  the  sufferings  in  the 
desert,  which  prepared  the  way  for  their  being  led  into  Canaan 
by  Joshua;  and  the  calamities  of  the  period  of  the  Judges, 
which  preceded  the  glorious  age  of  David  and  Solomon.  This 
is,  however,  not  saying  enough.  We  can  show  that  David 
had  a  clear  knowledge  of  the  heavy  trials  which  awaited  his 
race,  and  which  must  of  necessity  precede  its  final  glorification. 
In  2  Samuel  xxiii.  David,  speaking  on  behalf  of  his  seed, 
triumphs  over  the  sore  temptations  to  which  it  will  be  exposed 
in  consequence  of  its  future  sufferings.  David,  however,  exhi- 
bits this  knowledge  chiefly  in  his  Psalms — specially  in  that 
cycle  of  Psalms,  from  the  cxxxviii.  to  the  cxlv.,  which  give  us 
the  results  of  his  meditations  on  the  promise  contained  in 
2  Samuel  vii.     In  this  prophetical  legacy,  which  by  no  accident 


SONG    OF    SOLOMON.  289 

is  the  conclusion  of  the  series  of  his  Psalms,  David  accom- 
panies his  people  through  their  history,  and  offers  them  the 
anchor  which  shall  save  them  in  the  storms  to  which,  as  he 
knew  through  the  enlightenment  of  the  Spirit  of  God  Irom  the 
course  of  his  own  life,  they  would  be  exposed.  All  these 
Psalms  rest  on  the  supposition,  that  the  seed  of  David,  with 
which  the  destinies  of  the  people  of  God  were  inseparably 
connected,  had  become  degraded  and  corrupt.  In  the  intro- 
duction to  Psalm  cxlii,  in  my  Commentary,  I  remark, — "  An 
adifnonition  of  David  when  he  luas  in  the  cave.  David  regards 
his  own  desperate  condition  when  he  was  in  the  cave  as  a 
type  of  the  future  experiences  of  his  own  seed,  and  of  the 
Church.  His  thoughts  in  the  cave  he  lays  before  them  as  an 
admonition  or  instruction.  He  exhorts  them  not  to  despair, 
but  to  pour  out  their  complaints  before  the  Lord,  even  when 
they  are  in  the  very  extremity  of  misfortune: — and  to  such 
extremities  they  will  come,  for  what  the  fathers  endured  the 
sons  also  must  expect  to  endure, — they  also  must  expect  to 
meet  with  their  Saul."  The  cycle  ends  with  P.salm  cxlv.,  in 
which  are  expressed  the  praises  and  thanks  which  would  be 
offered  to  God  by  the  house  of  David  and  the  Church,  for  His 
having  enabled  them  to  endure  the  afHictions  brought  upon 
them.  We  may  find  also,  in  this  cycle  of  Psalms,  a  point  of 
connection  for  what  is  said  in  chap.  iii.  1-3  respecting  the  vain 
attempts  of  the  nation  to  help  itself  On  Psalm  cxli.  I  made 
the  following  observation: — "  David  wishes  to  strengthen  his 
successors  on  the  throne  against  the  severe  inner  temptations 
which  would  accompany  the  cross  that  awaited  them,  which 
had  hardly  beset  himself  during  the  troubles  of  the  past,  and 
the  danger  of  which  he  knew  from  his  own  experience."  Com- 
pare especially  verse  4,  "  Incline  not  my  heart  to  any  evil 
thing,  to  practise  wicked  works  with  men  that  work  iniquity, 
and  let  me  not  eat  of  their  dainties."  "  Whosoever  has  lost  his 
faith,  that  God  will  righteously  reward  wickedness,  is  very  open 
to  the  temptation,  to  endeavour  to  work  out  his  own  redemption 
by  himself,  and  to  employ  craft  and  force  instead  of  keeping 
within  the  troublesome  limits  and  restraints  of  the  Divine 
law."  We  may  further  remark  that,  everywhere  in  the  pro- 
phets, there  is  the  idea  that  Christ  will  appear  at  a  time  when 
the  seed  of.  David  and  the  Jewish  nation  are  in  a  state  of  the 


290  PROLEGOMENA  TO  THE 

deepest  humiliation  (see  my  Ghristology).  IV.  The  knowledge 
that  the  heathen  nations  would  share  in  the  kingdom  of  Mes- 
siah, is  as  old  as  the  very  hopes  themselves  of  the  Messiah's 
advent.  In  Abraham's  seed  were  all  the  nations  of  the  world 
to  be  blessed  :  to  Shiloh  were  the  nations  to  cleave.  For  re- 
marks on  the  knowledge  of  the  future  reception  of  the  heathen 
amongst  the  people  of  God,  and  under  the  sceptre  of  David, 
displayed  in  David's  Psalms,  see  my  Commentary.  Even  in 
the  prayer  of  Solomon,  at  the  consecration  of  the  temple,  we 
find  hints  of  the  future  concourse  of  the  heathen  to  the  king- 
dom of  God  (compare  1  Kings  viii.  41-43,  60). 

We  have  thus  adduced,  in  connection  with  the  first  division, 
ample  and  satisfactory  illustrations  of  the  principle  laid  down. 
No  featvire  can  be  pointed  out  which  did  not  form  part  of 
that  prophetical  picture  of  Messiah  which  may  be  shown  to 
have  existed  even  in  'the  age  of  Solomon.  The  case  is  a 
somewhat  different  one  with  the  second  division.  To  the 
thought  that  a  great  part  of  the  nation  will  despise  the  salva- 
tion offered  in  Christ,  and  thus  fall  a  prey  to  the  judgment, 
no  completely  correspondent  parallel  can  be  adduced  either 
from  the  pre-Salomonic  or  the  post-Salomonic  period.  Here, 
however,  we  may  apply  some  observations  which  we  have  else- 
where directed  against  those  who  judge  the  Books  of  Moses 
not  to  be  genuine,  on  the  ground  of  the  threats  of  exile  which 
they  contain.  "  The  threats  of  exile  were  the  necessary  fruit 
of  his  experience  of  the  corruption  of  the  nation.  Moses 
himself  always  starts  from  this  basis.  That  it  will  manifest 
itself  in  a  fearful  manner  in  the  future,  he  judges  from  its  out- 
breaks in  the  present — a  present,  too,  in  many  respects,  highly 
favoured,  "  If  they  do  such  things  in  the  green  tree,  what 
will  they  do  in  the  dry  ?'  Compare,  for  example,  Deuteronomy 
ix.  6,  7,  "a  stiff'-necked  people  art  thou.  Remember,  forget 
not,  how  thou  provokedst  the  Lord  thy  God  to  wrath  in  the 
wilderness  ;  from  the  day  that  thou  didst  depart  out  of  the 
land  of  Egypt  until  ye  came  unto  this  place,  ye  have  been 
rebellious  against  the  Lord."  Then  follows  an  enumeration  of 
particulars.  Finally,  they  are  told  in  ver.  24,  "ye  have  been 
rebellious  against  the  Lord  from  the  day  that  I  knew  you." 
Compare  further,  Deuteronomy  xxxi.  21,"  and  it  shall  come 
to  pass,  when  many  evils  and  troubles  befaU  them,  this  song 


SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  291 

will  testify  against  them  as  a  witness,  for  I  know  tlieir  spiint, 
which  they  have  even  on  this  day,  before  I  bring  thoin  into 
the  land  which  I  sware  :"  also  ver.  26  and  27,  "  take  this  book 
of  the  law,  and  put  it  in  the  side  of  the  ark  of  the  covenant 
of  the  Lord  your  God;  tliat  it  ma}^  be  there  for  a  witness 
against  thee.  Behold,  I  know  thy  rebellion  and  thy  stiff- 
neck  ;  behold  now,  while  I  am  still  with  you,  ye  rebel  against 
the  Lord  :  and  if  now,  how  much  more  after  my  death?  These 
words  are  of  the  more  importance  in  the  present  question,  as 
even  the  prayer  at  the  consecration  of  the  temple  (compare  1 
Kings  viii.  53,  56  and  other  passages  adduced  by  Keil),  to  go 
no  further,  shows  that  Solomon  lived  in,  and  was  very  familiar 
with  the  wi'itings  of  Moses.  St.  Paul  says  in  Romans  x.  19, 
that  even  Moses  in  the  words  of  Deuteronomy  xxxii.  21,  "I 
will  move  them  to  jealousy  with  those  which  are  not  a  people, 
I  will  provoke  them  to  anger  with  a  foolish  nation,"  pro- 
claimed the  rejection  of  the  Jews  and  the  acceptance  of  the 
Gentiles  ;  and,  indeed,  to  judge  from  Deuteronomy  xxxii,  the 
idea,  that  all  Israel  would,  as  a  matter  of  course,  attain  to  the 
enjoyment  of  the  Messianic  blessedness  would  be  a  complete 
anachronism.  The  view  of  human  nature  in  general,  and  of 
the  nature  of  Israel  in  particular,  which  the  nation  held  from 
the  very  beginning,  and  which  was  firmly  and  deeply  impressed 
on  the  mind  by  the  Mosaic  law  (for  remarks  on  the  deep 
knowledge  of  sin  evinced  in  the  Psalms,  see  my  Commentary); 
and  the  experiences  forced  upon  them  by  tlie  march  through 
the  desei-t,  by  the  times  of  the  Judges  and  by  the  governments 
both  of  David  and  of  Solomon  (in  the  days  of  the  former  took 
place  the  rebellion  of  Absolom  against  the  Lord  and  against 
His  anointed,  and  the  insurrection  of  Seba  whom  all  Israel 
followed;  and  under  the  latter  the  germs  were  ripening' of 
that  apostacy  from  the  dynasty  of  David  which  was  openly 
accomplished  immediately  after  Solomon's  death ;  see  my  Com- 
mentary on  Psalm  Ixxviii.)  rendered  it  utterly  impossible  that 
enlightened  Jews  should  expect  the  whole  people  to  render 
sincere  homage  and  devotion  to  the  Messiah  immediately  on 
His  appearance.  In  the  Psalms  themselves  we  find  a  clear 
separation  made  in  Israel  itself — the  limitation  of  blessings  to 
the  righteous,  and  the  excommunication  of  the  wicked  (com- 
pare Psalms  L,  Ixxviii.,  xcv,  xcix.,  cxxv.)      What  is  said  in  the 


292  PROLEGOMENA  TO  THE 

present  book  is  but  an  application  of  this  general  truth  to 
particular  circumstances.  To  find  this  truth  here  expressed, 
ought  the  less  to  strike  us  with  surprise,  as  all  the  Prophets 
were  in  possession  of  the  special  knowledge  it  involved. 
Isaiah,  for  example,  complains  in  clfap.  liii.  1,  because  the 
preaching  of  the  servant  of  God  would  take  so  little  hold  on 
Israel  (comp.  John  xii.  38,  Romans  x.  1 6),  and  proclaims  in  ver. 
2  and  3,  that  the  appearance  of  the  Saviour  in  the  form  of  a 
servant  will  prove  a  stumbling  block  to  the  covenanted  people. 
In  a  whole  series  of  passages  he  announces  the  judgment 
which  will  be  executed  on  the  children  of  the  kingdom  in  the 
Messianic  age  (compare,  for  example,  chap.  vi.  13,  66.) 
Zechariah  prophesies  that  the  greatest  part  of  the  Jews  will 
refuse  to  believe,  will  reject  and  punish  Christ  (see  chap,  xi 
and  xiii.  8) ;  as  also  that  they  will  finally  be  restored  (see 
chap.  xii.  ]  0  ff.  xiii.  9.)  In  chap.  iii.  1 — 6,  19,  24  of  his 
prophecies,  Malachi  beholds  in  vision  the  judgments  with  which 
even  the  people  of  God  will  be  visited  in  the  Messianic  age. 

If  we  have  shown  that  the  existence  of  a  knowledge  of  the 
Messianic  judgments  on  Israel  at  the  time  of  Solomon  ought 
to  occasion  no  surprise,  it  must  appear  very  natural  to  find 
also  expectations  expressed  of  the  final  re-admittance  of  the  na- 
tion to  the  favour  of  God.  Allowing  the  rejection,  the  restora- 
tion follows  as  a  matter  of  course.  The  principle  laid  down  by 
St.  Paul  in  Romans  xi.  2,  "  God  has  not  cast  oflTHis  people  whom 
Heforeknevj,"  and  ver.  29,  "  God  doth  not  repent  Him  of  His 
gifts  and  calling,"  was  known  in  the  very  first  ages  of  the 
Church  of  God.  To  see  this  we  need  only  compare  the  close 
of  Deuteronomy,  xxx.  1  fi!  The  end  of  each  individual  catas- 
trophe that  comes  over  the  covenanted  nation,  and,  therefore, 
the  final  end  and  result  of  them  all  is  always,  its  conversion  and 
forgiveness.  We  find  a  compendium  of  all  that  the  Books  of 
Moses  contain  of  this  nature,  in  Deuteronomy  iv.  80,  31, 
"  when  thou  art  in  tribulation,  and  all  these  things  are  come 
upon  thee,  in  the  latter  days,  thou  returnest  to  the  Lord  thy 
God  and  hearest  His  voice ;  (for  the  Lord  t]  y  God  is  a 
merciful  God  ;)  He  will  not  forsake  thee,  nor  destroy  thee,  nor 
forget  the  covenant  of  thy  fathers  which  He  sware  unto  them." 
In  1  King«  viii.  51,  also,  where  the  })rayer  for  the  forgiveness 
of  the  people  when  they  have  sinned,  is  urged  on  the  ground 


SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  293 

that  "  they  are  thy  people  and  thine  inheritance  which  thou 
hast  brought  out  of  Egypt,  out  of  the  iron  oven,"  Solomon 
evinces  an  acquaintance  with  the  general  truth  which  gave 
rise  to  the  proclamation  of  Israel's  restoration  after  the 
Messianic  rejection. 

Only  one  point  now  remains  for  examination,  namely,  what 
is  said  of  the  efforts  put  forth  by  the  daughters  for  the  salva- 
tion of  the  daughter  of  Zion.  We  have,  at  all  events,  one 
passage  in  analogy  Avith  this,  namely,  Isaiah  Ixiv.  20,  21,  where, 
after  having  been  told  how  the  messengers  of  Israel  should, 
first  of  all,  in  the  time  of  redemption,  declare  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  among  the  Gentiles,  we  read,  "  and  they  (the  converted 
heathen)  shall  bring  all  your  brethren  for  an  offering  to  the 
Lord,  as  the  children  of  Israel  bring  an  offering  in  a  clean 
vessel  into  the  house  of  the  Lord.  And  I  will  also  take  of 
them  for  Priests  and  Levites,  saith  the  Lord."  The  two  facts, 
the  fall  of  Israel  and  the  conversion  of  the  heathen,  being 
assumed,  it  may  be  taken,  strictly  speaking,  for  granted,  that 
the  daughters  of  Jerusalem  will  do  all  in  their  power  to  lead 
back  to  the  fellowship  of  blessedness  the  nation  from  which 
they  themselves  received  their  redemption.  The  contrary 
would  be  unnatural. 

We  have  shown  that  the  beginnings  and  germs  of  the  con- 
tents of  the  Song  of  Songs  existed  in  all  directions  in  the  age 
of  Solomon,  and  that  the  Song  of  Songs  contains,  strictly 
speaking,  no  new  prophetical  revelations.  Indeed,  the  whole 
position  of  Solomon  and  the  character  of  the  work  itself  would 
prevent  us  expecting  this.  Still  it  must  not  be  supposed  that 
the  contents  of  the  Song  of  Songs  covild  have  been  the  result 
of  a  putting  together  of  elements  found  ready  to  hand,  or  that 
they  are  explicable  as  a  mere  product  of  reflexion,  or,  finally, 
that  the  work  stands  on  the  same  level  as  the  Book  of  Proverbs, 
which  was  an  outflow  of  the  wisdom  of  Solomon.  The  truths 
already  existing  were  too  much  in  the  form  of  germs,  to 
account  for  the  certainty  and  clearness  with  which  they  are 
here  connected  into  a  whole.  Besides  the  points  of  connection 
afforded  by  history  we  must  assume  the  presence  of  a  second 
element — namely,  an  elevated  state  of  the  soul,  a  being  in  the 
spirit,  the  breathing  of  the  divine,  on  the  human,  spirit. 
That  this  was  the  case  with  the  Song  of  Songs,  as  well  as  with 


294  PROLEGOMENA  TO  THE 

the  Messianic  Psalms  (see  Psalms  ii.,  ex.,  Ixxii),  cannot  for  a 
moment  be  doubtful  to  the  spiritual  man,  who  alone  is  capable 
of  judging  of  the  spiritual.  The  character  of  the  book  itself, 
testifies  too  loudly  for  this.  But  that  Solomon  was  not  a 
stranger  to  the  prophetic  state  in  its  more  general  sense  is 
proved  by  history.  It  records  that,  in  two  instances,  the 
Lord  specially  appeared  to  him  (see  1  Kings  iii.  5,  ix.  2,  com- 
pare ix.  9.)  Solomon's  prayer  at  the  consecration  of  the  Temple, 
also,  was  the  fruit  of  an  extatic  or  elevated  condition  of  the 
soul. 

IV.   THE  INTERPRETATION  OF  THE  SONG  OF  SONGS. 

Which  of  the  two  methods  of  interpretation  is  the  true  one, 
the  spiritual  or  the  literal,  must  be  mainly  determined  in  the 
course  of  a  commentary.  A  fair  examination  of  the  form  and 
substance  of  the  poem  will  show  the  untenableness  of  the 
literal  method.  We  shall  now  proceed  to  advance  some  con- 
siderations favourable  to  the  allegorical  or  spiritual  view,  which 
may  be  urged  independently  of  the  commentary. 

Even  Magnus  cannot  avoid  finding  in  the  name  given  to  the 
work  in  the  superscription — "  The  Song  of  Songs" — a  proof  that 
the  writer  of  the  superscription,  who,  as  we  have  shown  previous- 
ly, can  be  no  other  than  the  author  of  the  poem  itself,  intended 
the  whole  to  be  interpreted  allegorically.  "  For,"  says  he,  "  had 
he  really  regarded  his  book  in  the  light  of  an  ordinary  love-song, 
the  title  given  to  it  would  have  been  a  thorough  lampoon  of 
all  the  other  writings  of  the  Old  Testament.  What  Israelite 
could  ever  dare  to  consider  a  worldly  song  as  more  excellent  than 
the  many  divine  compositions  of  a  Moses,  a  Miriam,  a  Deborah, 
a  Hannah,  and  a  David — or  even  than  the  God-inspired  dis- 
courses of  the  prophets,  which  may,  after  all,  be  styled  D''■|•'C^»  (?)" 
A  correspondence  may  be  traced  between  the  superscription — 
"  The  Song  of  Songs" — here,  and  the  expression,  "  thou  art 
the  faii-est  amongst  the  childi^en  of  men,"  in  Psalm  xlv.  3 ; — 
and  with  the  gTcater  right,  as  the  reason  assigned  in  the  su- 
perscription for  the  exaltedness  of  the  poem  is,  that  it  relates 
to  the  most  glorious  of  all  subjects,  to  wit,  the  heavenly  Solo- 
mon, ^chap.  i.  1). 

The  •mention  of  Solomon  as  the  author,  may  also  be  taken 


SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  295 

If  Solomon  Lc  the  author, 
then  we  are  driven  at  once  to  the  allegorical  method  of  inter- 
pretation, for  he  could  not  speak  of  himself  in  the  manner  in 
which  he  is  there  spoken  of  In  case  Solomon  wrote  the  book, 
the  Solomon  of  which  it  treats  must  be  a  different  one  from 
the  author  ;  must  be  the  heavenly  Solomon : — whence  also  we 
should  at  once  judge  that  the  beloved  one  is  no  other  than  the 
daughter  of  Zion. 

In  favour  of  the  allegorical  interpretation  may  be  urged  the 
relation  in  which  the  poem  stands  to  Psalm  xlv.  If  the  spi- 
ritual is  the  only  correct  view  of  the  latter,  we  cannot  avoid 
letting  go  the  literal  view  of  the  former.  Psalm  xlv.  has  been 
termed  a  compendium  of  the  Song  of  Songs  ;  and  this  is  per- 
fectly accurate  when  limited  to  the  first  division.  Psalm  xlv. 
is  a  compendious  version  of  the  fu'st  division  of  the  Song  of 
Songs,  made  with  a  view  to  public  performance  in  the  temple. 
The  sons  of  Korah  enter  here  into  a  relation  of  spiritual  service 
to  Solomon,  similar  to  that  which  they  had  previously  held 
towards  David  (see  Psalms  xlii.,  xliii.,  Ixxxvi.).  Common  to 
both  is  the  king  who  is  the  "  fairest  among  the  children  of 
men"  (Psalm  xlv.  8),  the  "  chiefest  among  ten  thousand"  (Song 
of  Songs  V.  10,  compare  ver.  11,  ff).  Common  to  both  is  the 
designation,  "  the  king,"  given  to  the  praised  one  :  see  Song  of 
Songs  i.  4,  11,  and  especially  chap.  vii.  G,  where  the  word  "pD 
is  employed  as  in  Psalm  xlv.  2,  without  the  article.  Common 
to  both  is  the  reference  to  the  plurality  of  brides,  with  whom 
the  king  unites  himself  in  love  at  one  and  the  same  time,  and 
amongst  whom  one  takes  a  particularly  exalted  position  (see 
especially  chap.  i.  3  ;  iii.  6-11 ;  vi.  8,  9).  Literally  understood, 
this  would  be  a  circumstance  peculiar  of  its  kind,  for  it  was 
never  the  custom  to  take  more  than  one  wife  at  the  same 
time.  Common  to  both  is  the  use  of  lilies  as  an  image  of 
lovely  virgins  (Psalm  xlv.  1).  Moreover,  there  is  a  similarity 
between  the  opening  of  the  Psalm  (see  ver.  2)  and  the  super- 
scription of  this  Song.  Conmion  to  both  is  the  mention  of 
the  loveliness  of  the  lips,  by  way  of  designating  loveliness  of 
discourse  (Psalm  xlv.  3.  Song  of  Songs  v.  1 3 ;  compare  also 
v.  1 6 ;  chap.  viii.  2 ;  Luke  iv.  2  2).  With  the  description  of 
the  heroic  might,  glory,  and  majesty  of  the  king,  in  Psalm 
xlv.  4-6,  compare  Song  of  Songs  v.  11,  14,  15.      Common  to 


296  PROLEGOMENA  TO  THE 

both  is  it  to  designate  the  kings  of  the  earth  the  "  companions, 
Dnan,  of  the  king"  (Psalm  xlv.  7  ;  Song  of  Songs  i.  7,  viii.  1  8). 
Common  to  both  is  the  connecting  of  ")D  and  ni^ns'  (Psahn  xlv. 
9 ;  Song  of  Songs  iv.  1 4).  The  word  ni^nx  is  used  only  in 
these  two  passages.  To  the  "  palaces  of  ivory,"  in  Psalm  xlv. 
9,  corresponds  the  "  tower  of  ivory,"  in  Song  of  Songs  vii.  5, 
(compare  v.  1 4).  The  solemn  address  to  the  Bride,  in  Psalm 
xlv.  10,  "  Hearken,  O  Daughter,  and  consider,  and  incline 
thine  ear  ;  forget  also  thine  own  people  and  thy  father's  house, 
and  cause  the  king  to  have  pleasure  in  thy  beauty,"  hints  at 
a  possible  disturbance  of  the  marriage  relation  :  so  far,  there- 
fore, there  is  a  coincidence  with  Song  of  Songs  v.  2,  ff.  The 
admonition  contained  in  the  first  part  of  the  Song  of  Songs 
(chap.  ii.  1 5),  to  catch  the  foxes,  conveys  a  similar  hint.  Com- 
mon to  both  is,  finally,  the  solemn  bridal  procession  (compare 
Psalm  xlv.  15,  l(j  with  Song  of  Songs  iii.  6-11).  After  all 
this,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  allegorical,  and  especially 
the  Messianic  interpretation  of  the  Song  of  Songs,  and  of  the 
45th  Psahn,  stand  or  fall  together:  that  what  shows  the  alle- 
gorical explanation  of  Psalm  xlv.  to  be  the  only  correct  one, 
applies  also  to  the  Song  of  Songs:  and  that  he  who  accepts 
the  spiritual  view  in  the  one  case,  and  rejects  it  in  the  other, 
must  fall  into  serious  difiiculties.  The  more  consistent  and 
scientific  position  is  that  of  the  Rationalists,  who  deny  the 
allegorical  interpretation  in  both  instances. 

In  favour  of  the  allegorical  explanation  we  may  urge  fur- 
ther, that  the  passages  in  the  Prophets,  which  contain  allusions 
to  the  Song  of  Songs,  all  rest  on  the  view  we  are  advocating. 
Compare  Hosea  xi.  4  with  chap.  i.  4 ;  Hosea  xiv.  6,8,9  with 
chap.  ii.  3 ;  Joel  iii.  3  with  chap.  iii.  6 ;  Obadiah  8  with  chap, 
ii.  24;  Isaiah  xxxiii.  17  with  chap.  i.  ]  6 ;  Isaiah  xxxv.  1  with 
chap.  ii.  1 ;  Jeremiah  vi.  2,  8  with  chap.  i.  7 ;  Jeremiah  xxxi. 
3  with  chap.  i.  4 ;  Jeremiah  xlix.  1 6  with  chap.  ii.  1 4 ;  La- 
mentations ii.  18  with  chap.  i.  9;  Lamentations  iv.  7  with 
chap.  V.  10;  Lamentations  iv.  20  with  chap.  ii.  3;  Ezekiel 
xvi.  61  with  chap.  i.  5;  Ezekiel  xxvii.  10,  1]  with  chap.  iv. 
4.  We  may  notice  also  more  particularly  the  following  pas- 
sages:— When  Isaiah,  in  chap.  ix.  6,  calls  the  Messiah  the 
Prince  of  Peace,  he  alludes  to  the  king  Solomon  in  the  Song  of 
Songs  iii.  11.     The  Song  of  Songs  speaks  of  the  peaceful  ad- 


SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  297 

mittance  of  the  lieatlion  nations  into  the  kingdom  of  king 
Solomon:  and  Isaiah  immediately  adds,  "  of  the  increase  of 
his  government  and  peace  there  is  no  end."  In  Ezekiel  xvi. 
1 1  we  read,  "  I  decked  thee  also  with  ornaments,  and  I  put 
bracelets  upon  thy  hands,  and  a  necklace  about  thy  neck." 
Under  the  image  of  ornaments,  with  which  God  adorns  the 
newly  espoused  bride,  are  set  before  us  the  Divine  commands : 
the  hands  are  the  instrument  of  action,  the  throat  is  the  organ 
of  speech.  There  is  an  unmistakable  allusion  to  the  allegori- 
cally  explained  passage.  Song  of  Songs,  chap.  i.  1 0 :  "  Comely 
are  thy  cheeks  in  the  chains,  and  thy  neck  in  the  laces;"  that 
is,  "  the  ordinances  and  commands  as  revealed  to  Israel,  and 
by  him  brought  into  practice."  In  the  Song  of  Songs,  nnin 
alludes  to  niin,  "law;"  and  so  in  Ezekiel,  '•ny  "ornament," 
alludes  to  nny  "  law."  The  image  of  marriage,  so  frequently 
employed  by  the  prophets  to  symbolise  the  relation '  between 
Jehovah  and  Israel,  always  presupposes  the  Song  of  Songs  as 
interpreted  spiritually :  but  to  this  point  Ave  shall  return  again. 
In  favour  of  the  allegorical  view  of  the  Song  of  Songs  we 
may  adduce  the  nighest  of  all  authorities,  to  wit,  that  of  the 
Lord  and  his  apostles.  The  New  Testament  is  pervaded  by 
references  to  the  Song  of  Songs,  and  all  of  them  are  based  on 
the  supposition  that  it  is  to  be  interpreted  spiritually.  Pro- 
portionally no  book  of  the  Old  Testament  is  so  frequently 
referred  to,  implicitly  or  explicitly,  in  the  New  Testament,  as 
tliis  one ;  and  we  cannot  but  be  surprised  at  the  superficiality 
or  the  prejudices  of  those  who  have  asserted  that  the  Song  of 
Songs  is  never  quoted  in  the  New  Testament.  The  remarks 
made  in  my  Commentary  on  the  Apocalypse  touching  this 
subject  are  a  sufficient  refutation  of  this  assertion.  The  Lord 
refers  to  the  Song  of  Songs,  with  the  supposition  that  it  has  a 
spiritual  meaning,  in  Matthew  vi.  28-30,  as  compared  with 
chap.  ii.  1.  Compare  also  Matthew  xiii.  25,  xxiv.  42,  with  chap. 
V.  2;  Matthew  xxi.  33  ff,  with  chap.  viii.  1 1 ;  Luke  xii.  35-37, 
with  chap.  v.  3;  Luke  xiii.  81,  32,  with  chap.  ii.  15;  John 
vi.  44  with  chap.  i.  4;  John  vii.  33,  34,  with  chap.  v.  G;  John 
xxi.  1 6,  with  chap.  i.  8.  Further,  may  be  compared  with  chap, 
i.  12,  Matthew  xxvi.  6  13,  Mark  xiv.  3,  John  xii  3,  Luke 
vii.  38  with  chap.  ii.  4,  John  ii.  1-11;  with  chap.  ii.  8,  John 
iii.  29;   with  chap.  iv.  7,  Ephesians  v.  27. 


298  PROLEGOMENA  TO  THE 

In  favoui'  of  the  allegorical  interpretation  may  be  adduced 
the  consentient  voice  of  the  Jewish  Church.  That  principle 
of  interpretation,  which  was  strictly  the  national  one  of  the 
Jewish  people,  and  which  was  received  by  all  at  all  periods, 
may  be  ftiirly  regarded  as  proceeding  from  an  uncorrupted  tra- 
dition, and  therefore  as  the  true  and  correct  one.  Now  this 
exactly  applies  to  the  allegorical  method.  All  the  Jewish 
witnesses  who  touch  on  the  matter  speak  in  its  favour: — not 
one  speaks  against  it.  Several  Jewish  testimonies  expressly 
affirm  that  no  other  mode  of  interpretation  was  ever  adopted. 

Sirach  xlvii.  17  has  been  appealed  to  in  support  of  the 
allegorical  view,  but  wrongly.  For  the  words,  h  uhaTg  xa! 
rrapoifMiaig  xai  'rrapajSoXaTg  zal  sv  ip;jyrivsi'ocig  d'Tridav/J.affdv  tfs  %wpa/,  are, 
like  all  the  rest,  based  on  the  historical  narrative  of  the  books 
of  Kings,  and  have  not,  in  the  first  instance,  respect  to  the 
writings  contained  in  the  Canon.  This  is  evident  from  the 
mention  of  sp/irjnlai,  by  which  we  understand  merely  the  in- 
terpretations  of  dark  sayings,  as  contrasted  with  the  dark 
sayings  themselves  (1  Kings  x.  1-3).  In  the  Canon  there  are 
no  such  ip,wnviiai  by  Solomon.  Verse  1  5,  in  which  Keil  finds 
a  special  allusion  to  the  Song  of  Songs  as  allegorically  inter- 
preted, rests,  in  the  same  way,  on  1  Kings  x.,  particularly  on 
verse  24. 

When  Josephus,  without  further  remark,  counts  the  Song 
of  Songs  as  one  of  the  prophetic  writings  (for  the  proof  of  this 
see  Kleuker),  he  shows  clearly  enough  that  at  his  time  it  was 
allegorically  explained.  In  Apion  i.  8  he  enumerates  alto- 
gether twenty-two  books,  which  have  rightly  found  confidence 
as  divine  {rd  dixalug  &i7a  'Trs-TT/ffrrj/jjsva) ;  to  wit,  the  five  books 
of  Moses,  the  writings  of  'the  prophets  (among  which  he  ex- 
pressly reckons  the  historical  books),  in  thirteen  books,  and 
besides,  four  other  books,  containing  hymns  to  God  and  pre- 
cepts for  the  life  of  men  («/'  5s  Xoi'Zai  rieaapig  viivoxjg  ng  rh  &sh 
xctt  roTg  dvdpw'rroig  brro&rixag  roZ  jSiou  inpiiyjiUGiv).  The  last  are  the 
Psalms,  Job,   Proverbs,   and  Ecclesiastes.*     For  the  Song  of 


*  Havercamp's  assumption,  that  Ecclesiastes  and  the  Song  of  Songs  were 
counted  as  one  book,  is  of  course  destitute  of  all  foundation.  But  tl;at  there  is 
a  vacant  place  for  the  Song  of  Songs  among  the  thirteen  prophetical  books  is 
equally  evident,  from  the  fact  that  Havercamp  is  obliged  to  separate  the  Lamen- 
tations of  Jeremiah  from  his  Prophecies,  and  to  reckon  them  as  a  separate  work. 


SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  299 

Songs,  consequently,  the  only  place  remaining  is  amongst  the 
prophets.  The  Targum  says  expressly  that  the  Song  of  Song's 
was  composed  by  Solomon,  "  the  prophet  and  king  of  Israel, 
in  the  spirit  of  prophecy." 

As  a  witness  for  the  prevalence  of  the  allegorical  explana- 
tion amongst  the  Jews,  may  be  adduced  the  Fourth  Book  of 
Ezra,  which,  according  to  Liicke,  was  written  before  the  de- 
stmction  of  Jerusalem  by^the  Romans,  (see  his  Introduction  to 
Apocalypse  of  John  ;)  and  according  to  Lawrence,  between  28 
and  25  before  Christ.  We  read  in  chap.  v.  24,  "ex  omnibus 
floribus  orbis  elegisti  tibi  lilium  unum,"  (compare  Song  of 
Songs  ii.  1.)  Ver.  25.  "Ex  omnibus  sedificatis  civitatibus 
sanctificasti  tibimet  ipsi  Sion.  Ver.  26.  Et  ex  omnibus  creatis 
volatilibus  nominasti  tibi  columbam  unam,"  (Song  of  Songs 
vii.  8,  9.)  Zion  is,  to  the  author,  the  lily,  the  dove,  and  the 
bride  of  the  Song  of  Songs. 

R.  Akiba  says  in  the  Talmudic  Tractate  ladaim,  (compare 
Michaelis  prsef,)  "  absit  omni  modo  ut  quis  Israelita  negaret, 
quod  canticum  canticoiTim  non  polluat  manus,  sive  non  sit 
sacrum  ;  quia  totus  mundus  tanti  non  est  ac  ille  dies,  quo 
canticum  canticorum  Israeli  est  datum.  Omnia  enim  Hagio- 
grapha  sacra  sunt,  sed  canticum  canticorum  est  sacratissimum. 
Et  si  qua  de  Salomonis  scriptis  dissensio  fuit,  ea  tantum  de 
Ecclesiaste  fait." 

Ebenezra  also  says  in  his  preftice,  (compare  again  Michaelis,) 
"absit,  absit,  ut  canticum  canticorum  de  voluptate  carnali 
agat,  sed  omnia  fig-urate  in  eo  decuntur.  Nisi  enim  maxima 
ejus  dignitas,  inter  libros  scripturse  sacrse  relatum  non  esset : 
neque  ulla  de  eo  est  controversia." 

The  oldest  and  most  weighty  testimony  to  the  lact  that  the 
allegorical  explanation  was  the  one  received  by  the  Jewish 
nation,  is  that  of  the  admittance  of  the  Song  of  Songs  into  the 
Canon,  to  which  Ebenezra  also  alludes.  It  can  only  be  re- 
garded as  an  anachronism  when  some  writers  still  hesitate  to 
allow  that  this  could  only  have  taken  place  in  consideration 
of  the  allegorical  interpretation.  In  opposition  to  the  pre- 
judices of  Semler  and  his  school,  it  is  now  universally  allowed 
that  not  merely  religiousness  of  substance,  but  a  sanctity  due 
to  inspiration,  was  required  in  order  to  the  admittance  of  any 
book  into  the  canon.     The  excellences  which  Delitzsch  finds 


300  PEOLEGOMENA  TO  THE 

in  the  Song  of  Songs  as  literally  interpreted,  as  for  example — 
"  how  natural  and  childlike  that  she  should  dance  hefoi'e  the 
daughters  of  Jerusalem,  that  she  should  seek  to  attract  Solo- 
mon by  the  costly  native  and  foreign  fruits  which  she  has 
stored  up  for  him  within  the  door  of  her  house,  and  that  she 
should  sing  when  queen,  the  songs  which  were  familiar  to  her 
as  a  shepherdess  and  vine-dresser,"  (page  158,)  or,  "the  fine 
turn,  in  which,  at  the  close  of  the  last  act,  she  urges  on  the 
king  the  improvement  of  the  condition  of  her  friends  and 
relatives,  shows  how  wisely  she  could  speak  and  act,"  (page 
159,)  or  "she  is  thoroughly  and  completely  a  flower-nature," 
and  so  forth,  form  but  a  very  bad  foundation  for  his  assertion, 
(page  177,)  that,  "the  Song  of  Songs  is  no  less  inspired  than 
any  one  of  the  Psalms."  Such  an  idea  of  inspiration  is  brought 
to  confusion  by  2  Timothy  iii.  16,  where  the  Apostle,  whilst 
setting  ibrth  the  true  nature  of  the  Old  Testament  canon, 
declares    also    the    principles    by   which   its    collectors    were 

guided  il^   their  work rraaa  ypa(pri,  dsC'jrvsvarog,  -/.ai  ufiiXi,aog  cr/»«j 

didacy.aXlav,  rrpog  'i?.iyxov,  -Trpli  i'zavopduffiv,  irpoi  'S'aidilav  tyiv  sv  Biy.a- 
loa-jvyi.  In  the  few  words  of  Proverbs  xxxi.  30,  "to  be  lovely 
and  beautiful  is  nothing ;  a  woman  that  feareth  the  Lord,  she 
shall  be  praised,"  there  is  more  of  a  moral  and  religious  nature 
than  in  the  whole  Song  of  Songs  literally  interpreted,  in  re- 
gard to  which  Delitzsch,  (page  158,)  makes  the  monstrous  con- 
fession, that  "  the  specifically  Israelitish  element  falls,  with 
Sularaith,  entirely  into  the  back- ground  in  relation  to  the 
general  human  element"  The  idea  of  marriage,  Delitzsch 
maintains,  is  the  idea  of  the  Songs  of  Songs  ;* — in  plain  con- 
tradiction to  chap.  vi.  8,  "  there  are  threescore  queens,  and 
fourscore  concubines,  and  virgins  without  number,"  as  well  as 
to  the  history  of  Solomon.  Delitzsch  professes  himself  unable 
to  reconcile  the  Song  of  Songs,  as  Messianically  interpreted, 
with  Solomon's  individuality  and  manner :  but  it  is  certainly 
far  more  difiicult,  to  show  psychologically  how  Solomon  came 
to  undertake,  ex  professo,  the  development  of  the  idea  of  mar- 
riage.    But,  in  any  case,  such  an  idea  of  marriage  as  is  here 

*  This  view  is  not  a  new  one.  It  was  set  forth  hy  Jaeobi  in  the  last  century, 
at  a  tolerably  suspicious  time,  at  a  time  when  the  Church  was  ready  to  capitu- 
late and  to  compromise  matters  with  its  enemies.  Its  genesis  has  been  v/ell 
exhibited  by  Kleuker. 


SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  801 

expounded,  could  never  be  considered  canonical.  It  would 
want  even  the  general  foundation  of  the  fear  of  God.  On  the 
literal  view  there  is  not  a  single  reference  to  religion  in  the 
whole  of  the  Song  of  Songs.  The  description  of  corporeal 
attractions,  extending  even  to  parts  which  are  scarcely  touched 
upon  even  in  woildly  literature,  is  oflensively  predominant  in 
the  Song  of  Songs  as  explained  literally.  "  Of  the  blessing 
of  children,"  as  Delitzsch  himself  says,  (page  184,)  "there  is 
no  express  mention."  "  Sulamith  is  not  even  described  as  the 
wife,  and  mistress  of  the  house,"  (page  184.)  The  whole  is 
an  accumulation  of  trifles,  partly  graceful,  partly  tasteless.  We 
should  shift  the  boundary  line  separating  worldly  from  sacred 
literature  were  we  to  pronounce  the  Song  of  Songs,  literally  in- 
terpreted, worthy  of  a  place  in  the  canon.  More  recent  commen- 
tators confess  that  the  admission  of  Psalm  xlv.  into  the  collection 
of  Psalms,  and  into  the  canon,  can  only  be  explained  on  the  sup- 
position that,  at  that  time,  the  allegorical  interpretation  was 
accepted  by  the  nation  at  large,  (compare  my  Introduction  to 
the  Psalms  :)  and  the  same  may  be  said  with  respect  to  this 
book. 

Finally,  the  history  of  the  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures 
presents  a  result  decidedly  unfavourable  to  the  literal  view. 
The  older  defenders  thereof  were  all  men  of  doubtful  name  : — 
for  example,  Theodore  of  Mopsuest,  Castellio,  Grotius,  Simon 
Episcopius.  But  whenever  the  Church  has  been  in  a  flourish- 
ing condition,  and  has  had  a  clear  and  decided  consciousness 
of  its  position  and  duty,  it  has  rejected  this  principle  with 
horror.  Kleuker  who,  as  it  were  against  his  own  will,  and 
influenced  by  the  opinions  of  his  age,  was  a  defender  of  the 
literal  view,  says  himself,  (page  132.):  "Some  examples  of 
aesthetic  explanations  of  this  book  may  be  adduced  from 
history.  They  have  been  however  always  regarded  as  smug- 
gled goods!'  He  remarks  further,  (page  133,)  "The  first 
examples  of  this  kind  amongst  Christians  are  referred  to  by 
Theodoret.  He  argues  very  zealously  against  a  whole  class 
of  such  interpreters,  and  styles  them  earthly,  carnal  minded 
men,  and  so  forth.  No  names  are  mentioned  besides  that  of 
Tlieodore  of  Mopsuest."  The  gentle  and  somewhat  pietistic 
J.  H.  Michaelis  speaks,  in  his  prcBf.,  (§.  5,)  of  the  "  impia 
opinio,"  "  the  impious  view  of  those  who  reduce  this  song  of 


302  PEOLEGOMENA  TO  THE 

divine  and  holy  love,  to  a  profane  and  fleshly  idyll."  Proper 
honour  was  first  done  to  the  literal  interpretation  during  the 
age  of  rationalism,  when  the  Churcli  was  degraded  to  the 
lowest  point,  and  utterly  lacked  both  sound  ecclesiastical 
judgment  and  holy  taste  and  tact.  He  who  first  brought 
it  into  vogue  was  J.  D.  Michaelis,  one  of  the  chief  representa- 
tives of  the  worldly  mindedness  of  Esau. 

In  view  of  such  weighty  reasons  against  the  hteral  prin- 
ciple of  interpretation,  only  the  most  striking  and  forcible 
considerations  should  move  us  to  its  adoption  ;  especially  as 
all  that  has  been  advanced*  against  the  spiritual  view,  turns 
out,  on  a  more  careful  examination,  to  be  empty  appearance 
and  cloud. 

One  argument  on  which  special  stress  has  been  laid,  is  the 
following  :  "  The  allegorical  representation  of  Israel  under  the 
image  of  a  virgin  was  not  sufficiently  common  in  the  age  of 
Solomon.  With  the  exception  of  the  one  passage  of  the 
Psalms  (ix.  1 5)  this  image  is  but  seldom  used  by  the  prophets 
till  after  Amos  v.  2,"  (Delitzsch,  64).  "Only  subsequent  to 
the  time  of  Isaiah,  did  the  personification  of  Israel,  Judah, 
Zion,  Jerusalem,  as  nn  or  nhnn,  become  popularand  stereotyped," 
(Delitzsch,  20.)  "Neither  directly  nor  as  a  figure  of  speech 
do  we  find  it  said  in  the  Pentateuch  that  Jehovah  is  Israel's 
husband  or  bridegroom."  It  cannot  of  course  be  denied  that 
the  Pentateuchal  phrase  iinx  nj?  contains  as  it  were  the  germ 
of  the  more  developed  expressions  subsequently  employed : 
"  yet  it  is  quite  certain  that  in  the  Mosaic  period,  the  view  of 
Jehovah's  relation  to  Israel  as  that  of  marriage,  was  still  quite 
undeveloped.  Even  passages  of  a  symbolical  cast,  such  as 
Isaiah  Ixi.  10  (compare  Jeremiah  ii.  32),  and  Ixii.  5,  (compare 
Zephaniah  iii.  1 7),  in  which  Jehovah's  loving  pleasure  in  Israel 
is  represented  under  the  image  of  the  festal  joy  taken  in  each 
other  by  a  bridegroom  and  bride,  cannot  be  found  in  the  writ- 
ings of  the  period  before  the  later  kings." 

In  reply  to  this  we  would  remark,  that  the  germs  of  tlie 
representation  of  the  higher  love — that  is,  of  the  relation  be- 
tween God  or  Christ  and  the  people  of  the  Old  and  New  Tes- 
tament— under  the  image  of  the  lower  are  more  important 
than  is  here  allowed. 

It  is  scarcely  conceivable  that  these  symbolical  representa- 


SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  303 

tions  should  not  have  been  customary  in  Israel  from  the  earliest 
times.  That  which  led  to  their  employment  is  very  carefully 
enjoined  in  the  books  of  Moses — for  example,  "  thou  shalt  love 
the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul, 
and  with  all  thy  strength,"  (see  Deuteronomy  vi.  5,  compared 
with  chap.  x.  1 2).  With  this  injunction  compare  Genesis  ii. 
24,  where  marriage  is  set  forth  as  the  closest  of  all  relations 
of  love. 

In  respect  to  the  passages,  Exodus  xxxiv.  15,  ]  G  ;  Leviti- 
cus XX.  5,  6  ;  xvii.  7  ;  and  Numbers  xiv.  S3,  where  idolatry, 
and  in  general  apostacy  from  God,  are  characterized  as  whore- 
dom, compare  my  Beitrdge  2,  S.  49. 

But  of  still  gTeater  importance  are  the  passages  which 
Delitzsch  has  entirely  overlooked — Deuteronomy  xxxii.  16, 
"  they  provoke  him  to  jealousy  through  strange  (gods),"  and 
ver.  21,  "they  provoked  me  to  wi-ath  by  that  which  was  no 
God,  and  I  will  move  them  to  jealousy  by  that  which  is  not 
a  people,"  (compare  Proverbs  vi.  34,  35).  Even  Vitringa  re- 
marks on  this  passage — "  Est  autem  metaphora  hie  manifesto 
desumta  a  marito,  qui  cum  ab  uxore  sua  iUicitis  amoribus  in- 
dulgente  se  spretum  videat,  et  inde  segTitudine  affectus,  ut 
vicissim  ipsi  agre  faciat,  et  ad  zelotypiam  commoveat,  non 
simulate  sed  aperte  amorem  et  affectum  surnn  ad  aliam  trans- 
fert,  ignobiliorem  etiam  mulierem,  eamque  uxore  sua  spreta, 
ut  videtur,  in  torum  assumit." 

After  these  passages  it  will  be  impossible  not  to  find  a  re- 
ference to  the  marriage  relation  between  Jehovah  and  Israel 
in  the  words  of  the  command,  "I,  the  Lord  thy  God,  am  a 
jealous  God,"  (Exodus  xx.  5).  Michaelis  remarks  thereon, 
"  consortis  impatiens  ut  maritus  coiTivalis,"  (compare  Numbers 
V.  14). 

When  Benjamin  is  called  in  Deuteronomy  xxxiii.  1  2,  -|''-i\ 
"  the  beloved  of  the  Lord,"  we  are  reminded  by  the  word  itself 
of  the  intimateness  of  God's  love,  which  is  as  the  love  of  a 
bridegi'oom  and  bride.  Solomon  himself  was  called  Jedidjah 
•(see  2  Samuel  xii.  25,  "and  he  called  his  name  Jedidjah 
because  of  the  Lord.")  Compare  the  words  of  verse  24,  "  and 
the  Lord  loved  him."  The  name  was  first  employed  in  a 
manner  suited  to  the  image,  when  it  was  conferred  on  Jedidah 
the  mother  of  Josiah. 


304?  PROLEGOMEXA  TO  THE 

It  cannot,  however,  be  called  in  question  tliat  there  is  a 
difference  in  regard  to  the  use  of  these  symbolical  representa- 
tions between  the  pre-Solomonic  and  the  post-Solomonic 
periods  ;  and  that  in  the  latter  they  occur  more  frequently 
and  in  a  more  distinct  shape.  A  comparison  of  the  passages 
in  the  Pentateuch  with  such  passages  as  Hosea  i-iii.,  Isaiah  i. 
21  ;  L  1  ;  Kv.  5  ;  Ixi.  10,  62;  iv.  5  ;  Jeremiah  ii.  2,  32;  iii.  1 ; 
xxxi.  2  2,  "  the  woman  shall  compass  the  man,"  (that  is  Israel 
will  compass  the  Lord  ;  see  my  Christology ;)  Jeremiah  xxxi. 
8  3,  "  but  I  marry  her  to  myself"  (compare  my  Christology, 
"  he  marries  apostate  Israel  afresh,  and  in  such  a  manner  that 
the  bond  of  love  will  henceforth  be  firm  and  indissoluble  ;") 
and  with  Ezekiel  xvi.  and  xxiii.  wiU  make  this  quite  plain. 

But  what  does  the  fact  prove?  It  is  an  erroneous  idea  that 
things  of  this  nature  arise  by  regular  degrees,  by  an  orderly 
succession  of  stages.  Certain  germs  and  preparations  will  of 
course  exist,  but  the  proper  naturalization  of  an  idea  amongst 
a  people  is  effected  by  some  one  individual  mind,  on  which  it 
has  laid  a  powerful  hold.  It  would  be  an  easy  matter  to  trace 
this  throughout  the  whole  Scriptures.  But  we  will  only  refer 
to  the  example  of  Isaiah  liii,  where  the  image  of  the  servant 
of  God,  suffering  on  behalf  of  others,  is  set  before  us  in  distinct 
outline  ;  which,  from  that  time  forth,  became  an  inalienable 
possession  of  the  Church  of  God.  A  wise  criticism  will  con- 
clude from  the  fact  that,  previous  to  the  Song  of  Songs,  such 
symbolical  representations  were  rare  and  very  undeveloped, 
whilst  afterwards  they  occur  frequently  and  in  detail,  that 
I.  The  Song  of  Songs  must  have  been  written  by  Solomon  ; 
and  II.  It  can  never  have  been  otherwise  than  allegorically  in- 
terpreted. It  is  a  further  confirmation  of  this  result,  that,  in 
agreem.ent  with  the  chainlike  connection  existing  between 
the  difterent  parts  of  Holy  Scripture,  those  literary  productions 
which  most  frequently  and  fully  employ  these  symbolical  re- 
presentations are  nearest  in  point  of  time  to  the  age  of  the 
Song  of  Songs  :  nearest,  that  is,  of  those  in  which  such  repre- 
sentations are  found  at  all.  We  may  refer  especially  to  Psalm, 
xlv,  which  in  all  probability  originated  in  the  Solomonic 
period.  In  that  Psalm,  Israel  appears  as  the  spouse  of  the 
Messiah,  the  heathen  nations  as  her  companions,  the  city  of 
Tyre  as  the  daughter  of  Tvre.      Hosea  also  is  remarkable  in 


SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  305 

this  respect.  His  employment  of  tlie  image  and  symbol  of 
mamage  to  represent  the  relation  between  the  Lord  and  Israel 
extends  through  the  whole  of  the  fii'st  three  chapters  ;  and  it  is 
constantly  recurring  even  in  the  remaining  chapters.  To  this 
we  may  add  that  the  Prophet  presupposes  the  people  to  be  pre- 
pared to  understand  such  representations — a  presupposition 
scarcely  to  be  accounted  for  if  there  only  existed  the  liints  con- 
tained in  the  Mosaic  law.  Finally  the  references  otherwise  made 
by  Hosea  to  the  Song  of  Songs,  as  allegorically  interpreted,  are 
unmistakable.  So  also  do  Isaiah  (see  chap.  v.  1  and  else- 
where), Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel  unquestionably  allude  to  the 
Song  of  Songs.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  precisely  those 
prophets  who  employ  these  symbohcal  representations  most 
frequently  can  be  shown,  on  other  grounds,  to  have  studied 
the  Song  of  Songs  most  deeply. 

We  conclude  with  the  remark,  that  the  spiritual  interpreta- 
tion of  the  Song  of  Songs  has  suffered  not  less  severely  from 
its  friends  than  from  its  opponents.  Apart  from  the  individual 
attacks,  through  which  the  allegorical  view  has  been  brought 
into  disfavour,  there  have  been  two  main  errors  prevalent.  On 
the  one  hand,  most  of  the  Jewish  expositors  have  been  of 
opinion  that  the  Song  of  Songs  is  a  poetical  history  of  the 
leadings  of  Israel  from  the*  days  of  Abraham  onwards.  This 
has  been  one  unfortunate  result  of  their  opposition  to  Christ 
and  His  Church.  On  the  other  hand,  Christian  wi-iters  have 
fallen  into  a  wrong  estimate  of  the  specially  Jewish  contents, 
through  that  heathen-Christian  pride  which  St.  Paul  so 
earnestly  fights  against,  and  gentle  hints  and  warnings  con- 
cerning which  may  be  found  even  in  the  poem  itself  The 
duty  of  the  Church  is  thoroughly  to  renounce  such  prejudices, 
to  deprive  that  literal  view  which  has  robbed  the  treasure  of 
Holy  Scripture  of  one  of  its  noblest  jewels,  of  every  excuse, 
and  to  act  so  that  such  a  view  may  henceforth  always  bear 
plainly  a  character  of  arbitrariness  and  bias. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB: 

A  LECTURE, 

BT 

PROFESSOR  DR.  E.  W.  HENGSTENBERG. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB. 


The  very  first  verse  of  the  Book  of  Job  informs  us  as  to  the 
natiu'e  of  its  subject : — "  Tliere  was  a  man  in  the  land  of  Uz, 
whose  name  was  Job.  The  same  was  simple  and  upright, 
one  that  feared  God  and  eschewed  evil."  The  name  Job  (or 
more  correctly  Hiob)  signifies  the  much  persecuted.  Under- 
standing the  name  of  the  man,  we  are  no  longer  astonished 
afterwards  to  find  him  surrounded  and  assailed  on  all  sides 
by  enemies,  with  Satan  at  their  head,  whose  very  designation, 
signifying  the  adversary,  stands  to  that  of  Job  in  the  relation 
of  an  active  to  a  ixissive.  The  much  persecuted  is  described 
as  a  thoroughly  just  man.  Four  several  terms,  designative 
of  righteousness,  are  employed,  in  order  to  indicate  its  great 
breadth  and  completeness.  According  to  the  clue  thus  given, 
we  should  judge  the  theme  of  the  book  to  be  the  sufferings 
of  the  righteous, — how  they  are  to  be  explained,  and  shown 
consistent  with  the  divine  righteousness ;  what  should  be  the 
conduct  of  men  so  situated,  and  by  what  means  the  heart  is 
then  to  be  quieted  and  consoled. 

Tlie  importance  of  this  theme,  and  the  gTcat  significance  of 
the  book,  whose  mission  it  is,  as  part  of  the  marvellous  organ- 
ism of  the  canon  of  sacred  Scriptures,  to  thoroughly  discuss 
it,  must  be  evident  to  all.  If  what  Paul  Gci'hardt  says  is 
true, — "  Until  the  grave,  the  rod  of  the  cross  will  lie  on  us  ; 
but  then  it  ends," — it  is  of  the  utmost  practical  consequence 
to  have  a  clear  understanding  of  this  subject.  But,  that  it  is 
no  light  matter  to  attain  to  this  clear  understanding,  that  the 
cross  is  a  deep,  unfathomable  mystery,  that  it  belongs  to  the 
sphere  of  "gi-eat  secrets,  which  the  Spirit  of  God  alone  can 


810  ,  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB. 

unfold,"  is  shown  by  the  futility  of  all  the  efforts  put  forth 
by  the  natural  reason, — a  futility  which  is  patent  to  all  the 
world.  Let  us  more  carefully  examine  some  of  the  views  of 
this  question  which  owe  their  origin  to  the  unaided  mind  of 
man. 

The  most  noted  amongst  the  worldly  answers  to  the  ques- 
tion— "  How  are  we  to  regard  the  sufferings  of  such  as  are 
really  or  supposedly  righteous  ?"  is  that  of  the  Stoics.  They 
maintained  that  there  is  in  reality  no  suffering :  that  pain 
is  a  something  indifferent,  but  not  an  evil.  Suffering  is 
merely  such  in  appearance.  All  depends  on  our  seeing  this, 
on  our  boldly  lising  above  such  appearances,  in  the  conscious- 
ness of  the  dignity  of  mind,  on  which  external  happiness 
confers  nothing,  and  from  which  nothing  is  taken  by  external 
suffering.  Against  this  theory  the  first  objection  is  its  un- 
truth. Here  the  words  of  Job  are  applicable — "  Is  my 
strength  the  streng-th  of  stones,  or  is  my  flesh  brass?"  Pain, 
suffering,  is  not  of  the  nature  assigned  to  it  by  this  theory. 
It  is  not  true  that  we  can  easily  and  readily  rise  above  it. 
Imaginary  sufferings  may  be  dissipated  by  such  consolation; 
even  as  imaginary  sins,  that  is,  such  sins  as  do  not  lie  on 
the  heart  of  the  sinner,  may  be  got  rid  of  by  that  pantheistic 
doctrine  which  teaches  that  sin  is  a  mere  appearance,  from 
which  we  are  made  free  so  soon  as  we  see  distinctly  that  we 
have  not  to  do  with  a  reality, ;  but  assuredly  neither  real  suf- 
fering, nor  real  sin,  can  be  so  lightly  removed.  Many  who 
held  this  notion  have  been  brought  by  painful  experience  to 
confess  its  vanity.  It  is  condemned  by  its  own  supporters. 
Lipsius,  the  celebrated  profane  Philologian  of  the  16th  cen- 
tury, "  an  extremely  active  instrument  of  Satan  in  the 
uprooting  of  Christianity,"  as  Denois  styles  him,  was  in  his 
good  days  thoroughly  persuaded  of  the  truth  of  this  stoical 
view.  But  when,  during  the  painful  sickness  which  put  an 
end  to  his  life,  one  of  his  friends  said  to  him — "  It  cannot  be 
necessary  for  me  to  offer  you  consolation,  for  the  philosophy 
which  you  have  advocated  with  so  much  zeal  must  be  able 
to  comfort  you  sufficiently,"  Lipsius  sighed  and  replied,  "  Lord, 
give  me  Christian  patience."  Frederic  the  Great,  who  recog- 
nised no  other  means  of  consolation  than  a  "  moderate 
stoicism,"  gives  expression,  in  a  multitude  of  passages,  Avith 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB.  311 

the  openness  characteristic  of  a  gi-eat  mind,  to  his  feeling  of 
its  insufficiency.  He  says,  for  example,  in  his  letters  to 
d'Alembert,  "  It  is  a  disagTeeable  fact  that  all  who  suffer  are 
forced  to  flatly  contradict  Zeno :  there  is  not  one  of  them  all 
who  would  not  confess  that  2^cdn  is  a  great  eviV*  Further, 
"  It  is  a  noble  thing  to  rise  above  the  unpleasant  accidents 
to  which  we  are  exposed,  and  the  only  means  by  which  the 
unfortunate  can  console  themselves  is  stoicism,  not  earned  too 
far.  But  when  gout,  or  stone,  or  the  bull  of  a  Phalaris  enter 
into  our  sufferings,  the  piercing  screams  which  escape  from 
the  sufferers,  show  that  pain  is  a  very  essential  e^dl."f  Lastly, 
"  Tlie  stoic,  it  is  true,  does  say,  '  thou  must  feel  no  pain,'  but 
/  feel  it  against  my  ivill ;  it  consumes,  it  lacerates  me,  and 
an  inward  feeling,  overmastering  my  powers,  tears  from  me 
wailings  and  fruitless  sighs."  |  What  the  great  and  strong 
soul  of  this  king  failed  to  find  in  such  a  means  of  consolation, 
others  wiU  assuredly  be  still  more  certain  to  seek  in  vain. 
But  the  stoical  consolation  is  not  only  insufficient,  it  is  also 
dangerous  and  destiiictive ;  and  even  should  it  answer  its 
end,  it  would  be  condemned  by  that  word  of  Christ's — "  What 
shall  it  profit  a  man,  if  he  gain  the  whole  world,  and  do 
damage  to  his  own  soul  ?"  TTiou  strikest  them,  but  they  feel 
it  not,  says  Jeremiah,  complainingly.  Not  to  feel  the  strokes 
of  God  appears  to  him  to  be  a  heavy  charge.  Tlie  Saviour 
counts  those  blessed  who  are  poor  in  spirit,  who  are  not 
merely  externally  poor  and  wretched,  but  avIio  also  feel  them- 
selves to  be  poor  and  wretched.  He  saith,  "  Blessed  are  they 
that  mourn,  for  they  shall  be  comforted."  Even  in  the  Old 
Testament,  "  the  -^vi-etched,"  those  who  take  their  sufferings 
to  heart,  are  constantly  represented  as  the  sole  heirs  of  the 
possessions  of  heaven.  Not  to  be  wretched  is  equivalent  to 
having  no  share  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  "  I  am  poor  and 
wretched."  So  speaks  David,  no  less  when  sitting  on  the 
throne  than  when  hunted  by  Saul  like  a  partridge  on  the 
mountains.  This  pervading  mood  of  the  believer,  this  con- 
dition of  the  peaceable  fniits  of  the  righteousness  wliicli  the 
cross  is  to  work  out,  is  set  aside  by  stoicism.  It  does  all  it 
can  to  prevent  suffering  from  touching  the  inner  man.      It 

*  Part  XII.  of  his  Posthumous  Writings,  p.  9.      t  Tntto,  p.  12.      %  Ditto,  p.  16. 


S 1  2  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB. 

thus  defeats  the  counsels  of  God,  and  give5  no  room  what- 
ever for  that  mild  and  gentle  sorrow  which  goes  hand  in 
hand  with  true  repentance.  Besides,  on  this  view,  one  can 
only  rise  above  suffering  by  cherishing  as  warmly  as  possible 
the  fancy  of  one's  own  height,  dignity,  and  excellence.  Finally, 
a  stoic  is  compelled  to  crush  the  tenderest  and  noblest  feelings, 
to  sunder  the  holiest  bonds  of  love ;  for  example,  when  his 
nearest  friends  and  connexions  die,  to  gratify  his  pride,  he 
must  deny  his  love. 

Another  worldly  means  of  consolation  is  the  assertion,  that 
there  are  external  evils  which  befall  the  righteous  and  wicked 
without  distinction,  and  that  it  is  irrational  to  be  unwilling 
to  submit  to  discomforts  which  are  inseparable  from  the 
nature  of  finite  limited  beings.  The  intention  is  thus  to  put 
God  out  of  the  reach  of  attack,  but  the  defence  is  worse  than 
the  assault  itself, — the  remedy  is  worse  than  the  disease. 
Wlioso  cherishes  such  views  is  on  the  high  road  to  atheism. 
It  shuts  out  from  the  superintendence  of  earthly  things  Him 
who  counts  all  the  hairs  on  our  head,  and  without  whose  will 
not  a  span'ow  falls  to  the  ground ;  it  denies  the  great  truths 
confessed  by  David  in  the  psalm — "  Lord,  thou  hast  searched 
me  and  known  me."  When  we  begin  to  limit  God,  we  are 
not  far  from  losing  him  entirely.  Every  such  limitation 
destroys  our  fundamental  view  of  the  nature  of  God. 

Nor  may  we  even  entrust  ourselves  to  those  who,  in  respect 
of  the  sufferings  of  the  righteous  and  the  prosperity  of  the 
ungodly,  would  have  us  look  solely  to  the  compensation  and 
balance  to  be  expected  in  the  life  to  come.  The  vision  of 
future  glory  must,  of  course,  be  highly  consolatory,  and  the 
Scripture  itself  suggests  to  us  this  source  of  comfort.  It 
teaches  us  that  the  sufferings  of  this  present  time  are  not 
worthy  to  be  compared  with  the  glory  that  shall  be  re- 
vealed in  us — that  our  afflictions,  which  are  light  and  mo- 
mentary, shall  work  out  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding,  even  an 
eternal  weight  of  glory  ;  it  counts  the  man  blessed  who 
endures  the  fight  of  afflictions,  because,  after  he  has  been 
proved,  he  shall  receive  the  crown  of  life.  But  this  means  of 
consolation  alone  does  not  suffice.  Rather,  in  order  to  be 
efficient,  it  needs  a  solid  foundation.  This  is  evident  from  the 
fact,  that  clear  light  in  regard  to  eternal  life,  was  only  given 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB.  813 

to  the  Cliurch  of  God  by  slow  degrees.  It  is  thus  intimated 
to  us,  that  the  present  life  also  has  an  independent  position 
and  meaning  ;  that  our  first  duty  is  to  perceive  and  understand 
in  it,  the  traces  of  divine  Providence.  And  if  we  look  into 
the  lives  of  behevers  who  have  had  the  strongest  and  clearest 
convictions  as  to  the  doctrine  of  eternal  life,  we  shall  find  that 
the  c(mflict  caused  by  suftering  repeats  itself  ever  afresh,  that 
its  successful  termination  constitutes  really  the  basis  of  a 
living  faith  in  retribution  after  death,  and  that  where  the 
issue  of  such  conflicts  is  unfavourable,  there  also  that  faith 
becomes  of  necessity  weak  and  vacillating.  Only  when  we 
see  in  the  course  of  history  a  continuous  judgment  of  the  world, 
can  our  faith  in  the  final  judgtnent  be  well-founded  and 
rational.  Letters  promising  happiness  in  eternity  are  worthless, 
if  their  issuer  gives  no  proof  of  his  power  and  his  good  will  in 
the  present  life.  If  God  is  the  holy  and  the  righteous  One, 
He  must  be  willing  to  manifest  this  His  nature  in  His  con- 
duct towards  His  people  and  towards  His  enemies,  even  in  the 
present  world.  If  he  is  the  Almighty,  nothing  can  prevent 
Him  from  this  display  even  in  this  liie.  Can  we  discern  no 
signs  whatever  of  such  a  course,  then  our  faith  in  reti-ibution 
I  after  death  will  be  in  a  very  poor  case.  If  sin  is  not  here 
\  already  the  ruin  of  men,  then  there  exists  no  hell :  if  salva- 
tion and  safety  do  not  acompany  righteousness  already  here, 
then  there  exists  no  heaven.  The  future  life  is  not  the  scene 
)f  the  beginning,  but  only  of  the  complete  accomplishment,  of 
hings.  Woe  to  the  man  who  hopes  for  an  absolute  future,  in 
rery  respect,  and  in  this  also!  He  deceives  himself  Who 
say  whether  the  God  who  now  shuts  Himself  up  inactively 
heaven,  will  then  attain  to  a  better  will  and  to  greater 
rer  ?  Unrighteousness  even  in  time  is  at  variance  Avith 
t^  nature  of  a  holy  and  righteous  God.  A  God  who  has 
^-i^hing  to  make  good  again,  is  no  God  at  all.  The  Holy 
Sc\ture  knows  nothing  of  a  God  who  only  rises  to  power 
wh  this  life  has  ended.  Its  God  is  from  beginning  to  end 
3-  l\ig  God.  God's  righteous  retribution  on  earth  is  the 
theiof  praise  throughout  the  entire  Old  Testament — and 
that\go  lively  and  convincing  a  sort,  that  the  Church  in  all 
been  driven  to  find  therein  the  enlivenment  of  its 
1.      Our  Lord  Himsell",  when  describing  the  reward  of 


814  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB. 

those  who  have  renounced   everything  for  His  sake,  begins 
■with  this  jjresent  life. 

Not  unfrequently  also  has  resignation  been  recommended  as 
an  antidote  to  the  temptations  which  arise  out  of  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  righteous.  Man  cannot  fathom  God's  counsels, 
and,  therefore,  it  is  said,  he  does  best  to  submit  himself  blindly 
and  without  murmurings  to  all  that  happens.  Tliis  counsel, 
however,  notwithstanding  its  pious  looks,  comes  forth  not  from 
the  sanctuaiy,  but  from  the  world.  Rationalism  set  it  afloat. 
It  wantonly  broke  the  key  to  the  door  of  the  mystery,  and 
then  declared  that  no  solution  was  possible  to  mortals.  Of  such 
resignation  the  Scriptures  know  nothing.  The  sacred  writers, 
who  occupy  themselves  with  this  subject,  are  all  of  them  able 
to  justify  God  on  account  of  the  sufferings  of  the  righteous, 
and  never  dream  of  evading  the  difiiculty  by  the  appeal  to 
resignation — a  conduct  which  would  be  inconsistent  with  the 
reality  of  revelation  and  of  divine  inspiration.  The  fact  that 
one  whole  book  of  the  Scriptures  is  taken  up  v/ith  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  sufferings  of  the  righteous,  shows  that  they  are 
far  from  requiring  a  blind  faith,  which  is  much  more  closely 
allied  to  unbelief  than  might  at  first  sight  appear. 

What  shall  be  said  then  to  grounds  of  consolation  such  as, 
that  pain  is  a  condition  of  joy,  that  the  enjojonent  of  pleasure 
becomes  keener  through  suffering,  or,  that  it  is  necessary  for 
the  furtherance  of  the  general  wellbeing,  that  single  indivi 
duals  should  suffer  for  a  time?  Such  contrivances  of  "vai 
physicians"  and  "miserable  comforters"  do  not  deserve  a  m 
ment's  attention. 

In  this  matter,  therefore,  the  wisdom  of  this  world  pro^ 
itself  invariably  to  be  folly.  The  Holy  Scriptures  on  the  c^- 
trary  show  themselves  in  this  region  also  to  be  a  lamp  to^r 
feet  and  a  light  to  our  path.  Even  in  their  earliest  por^s 
they  lay  the  foundation  for  the  solution  of  this  impc^nt 
problem,  in  that  they  report  the  fact  of  the  fall,  conct^^^g 
which  the  wisdom  of  the  heathen  world  was  in  perfect^^^" 
ranee.  "  By  the  fall  of  Adam  the  nature  and  character  i^^n 
has  been  quite  corrupted  :" — and  this  is  the  key  botP  ^lie 
sufferings  of  the  righteous  and  to  many  other  secrets  ^^  is 
of  great  importance  to  have  possession  of  this  key  r*^'  ^'^^ 
distribution  of  the  lots  of  men  is  determined  by  t^fact  of 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB.  315 

the  fall.  Wlioso  falls  into  mistakes  regarding  it  must  also  fall 
into  eiToneous  views  of  God.  What  fearful  conflicts  arise 
when  severe  sufferings  befall  a  man  who  lacks  the  knowledge 
of  sin  is  strikingly  and  affectingly  illustrated  in  the  life  of 
Charles  of  Hohenstaufen,  who  committed  suicide  because  he 
could  not  understand,  and  thought  himself  undeserving  of, 
the  troubles  with  which  he  was  visited.  And  very  many  who 
do  not  go  so  far  as  that,  fall  through  suffering  into  a  state  of 
continuous  rebellion  against  God : — they  cherish  wrong 
thoughts  about  the  only  Comforter  in  all  tribulation,  and  drag 
on  a  weary  and  wretched  existence.  Byron  calls  God,  "  the 
Almighty  tyrant  whom  he  wished  to  look  boldly  in  the  face, 
and  inform  that  His  evil  is  not  good."  What  he  was  bold 
enough  to  utter  is  a  thought  which  lies  like  a  gnawing  worm 
in  the  hearts  of  innumerable  men,  only  unexpressed. 

The  solution  of  the  problem  in  Holy  Scripture  depends  on 
a  twofold  truth.  I.  We  must  necessarily  enter  through  much 
tribulation  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  For  even  in  the 
righteous,  that  is,  in  him  the  main  tendency  of  whose  soul  is 
Godward,  and  who  keeps  the  divine  law  in  his  heart,  there 
still  dwells  sin,  and  the  necessary  residt  of  sin  is  suffering. 
This  suffering  is  inflicted  by  the  divine  righteousness  as 
punishment,  by  the  divine  love,  as  a  means  of  improvement. 
The  common  result  of  the  two,  this  combination  oi  jninishment, 
which  always  proceeds  from  the  principle  of  retribution,  and 
of  love  whose  design  it  is  to  further  our  salvation,  is  chastise- 
Tnent,  to  which  the  Holy  Scriptures  earnestly  and  lovingly 
admonish  us  to  submit  willingly,  as  being  the  unavoidable 
condition  of  our  final  redemption  and  glory.  "  My  son,"  says 
Solomon,  "  despise  not  thou  the  chastening  of  the  Lord,  and  be 
not  impatient  when  He  punisheth  thee.  For  whom  the  Lord  loveth 
He  chasteneth,  and  He  hath  pleasure  in  him,  as  a  father  in  his 
son."  These  words  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  follows  literally 
up,  adding,  "  if  ye  endure  chastisement  then  are  ye  the  children 
of  God  :  for  where  is  the  son  whom  the  father  chasteneth  not  ? 
but  if  ye  be  without  chastisement,  whereof  all  are  partakers, 
then  are  ye  bastards  and  not  sons."  Quite  in  the  sense  of  the 
Scriptures  Luther  says  in  that  Table-talk  of  his  which  con- 
tains so  many  deep  eind  beautiful  things,  "  therefore  is  it  a 
foolish  thing  for  reason  and  philosophy  to  say, '  it  shall  go  well 


316  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB. 

with  the  pious  and  righteous.'  That  is  no  true  Christian  con- 
clusion. Because  sin  still  remains  in  the  flesh  they  must 
needs  be  chastised  and  plagued  in  order  that  it  may  be  from  day 
to  day  thoroughly  swept  out."  In  the  same  tone  says  one  of 
Luther's  most  unfair  opponents,  De  Maistre,  in  his  "  Soirees  de 
St.  Petersbourg,"  "  I  confess  to  them  without  shame  that  I  can 
never  reflect  on  this  fearful  subject  without  being  tempted  to 
cast  myself  on  the  earth,  as  a  criminal  begging  for  mercy  ;  or 
else  to  call  down  all  possible  evils  on  my  head  as  a  slight  re- 
compence  for  the  immeasurable  guilt  which  I  have  contracted 
towards  the  Eternal  Righteousness.  And  notwithstanding, 
they  cannot  believe  how  many  times  in  my  life  it  has  been 
said  to  me  that  I  am  a  very  upright  man."  II.  The  righteous 
are  never  visited  with  the  cross,  that  is,  with  disguised  grace, 
alone.  The  manifest  grace  of  God  is  always  in  its  company, 
and  in  its  train.  Although  in  the  deepest  outward  trouble, 
they  are  still  happier  than  the  ungodly.  "  Thou  givest  me 
joy  in  my  heart,"  said  David,  when  compelled  to  flee  before 
Absalom  and  when  stripped  of  everything,  "  although,  those 
have  much  wine  and  corn."  (Psalm  iv.  8.)  And  during  the 
same  hard  times  the  Sons  of  Korali  sang,  as  it  were  out  of  his 
own  soul,  "  the  Lord  sendeth  His  goodness  by  day,  and  by 
night  I  sing  to  Him  and  pray  to  the  God  of  my  life,"  to  he 
able  and  to  be  permitted  to  do  which,  is  a  great  mercy  (Psalm 
xlii.  9.)  But  when  sufferings  have  accomplished  their  pui^ose 
they  are  turned  away  by  the  Lord.  The  end  always  shows 
the  difference  between  the  righteous  and  the  wicked.  The 
proclamations  wliich,  according  to  1  Peter  i.  2,  were  made  by 
the  prophets,  "  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ  and  the  glory  which 
should  follow,"  rested  on  tlie  known  experiences  of  the 
righteous.  He  who  walks  uprightly  in  the  ways  of  the  Loid, 
must  have  experienced  that  whenever  he  has  stood  on  the 
brink  of  the  abyss,  the  delivering  hand  has  been  stretched 
forth  from  above  to  preserve  him  from  ruin,  that  his  rescue 
has  been  effected  just  when  he  had  gone  so  far  that  there  was 
"  only  a  step,  naj'',  only  a  hair,  between  his  life  and  death." 

Now  this  solution,  everywhere  hinted  at  in  Holy  Scri})ture, 
when  the  problem  is  brought  forward,  is  fully  set  forth  in  the 
Book  of  Job.  It  was  a  great  mistake,  when  some,  in  order 
to  do  honour  to  the  Scriptures,  deemed  themselves  compelled 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB.  31  7 

to  ascribe  a  purely  historical  character  to  this  book,  which 
occupies  a  middle  position  between  the  two  classes  of  sacred 
poesy,  the  Psalms  and  Proverbs,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
Song  of  Solomon  on  the  other.  Luther,  with  his  usual  good 
sense,  recognised  in  it  a  poetical  element.  He  says,  in  his 
Table-talk,  "  I  hold  the  book  for  a  genuine  history  ;  but  that 
everything  happened  and  was  done  as  there  represented,  I  do 
not  believe.  I  hold  that  some  pious  and  learned  man  or 
other  put  it  into  the  form  in  which  we  now  have  it,  and  that 
it  was  written  at  the  time  of  Solomon."  But  it  is  impossible 
to  rest  contented  even  with  this  view.  How  greatly  the 
didactic  purpose  predominates  over  everything  else  is  evident 
from  the  fact,  that  even  the  name  Job  is  formed  under  its  in- 
fluence. The  round  and  sacred  numbers,  too,  play  a  part 
such  as  they  would  scarcely  be  found  to  play  in  a  real  history. 
Job  had,  for  example,  before  his  afflictions,  seven  sons  and 
three  daughters,  altogether  ten  children ;  and  exactly  the 
same  number  does  he  receive  again  afterwards, — so  through- 
out. The  negotiations,  furthermore,  between  God  and  Satan, 
imperatively  require  us  to  distinguish  between  the  idea  and 
its  clothing, — a  thing  which  can  only  be  done  when  the  form 
of  representation  is  allowed  to  be  a  poetical  one.  If  viewed 
as  historical  fact,  the  speaking  of  God  out  of  the  storm  would 
be  a  thoroughly  isolated  case.  There  is  not,  in  the  entire  Old 
Testament,  one  miracle  having  a  simply  personal  reference  ; 
besides  that,  Job  was  outside  the  limits  of  the  Church  of  God, 
which  is  the  natural  soil  of  all  the  miracles  of  Holy  Scripture. 
The  Church  is  invariably  the  scene  of  miracles.  Of  still  more 
thorough  importance  is  the  consideration,  that  such  a  person 
as  Job  could  not  have  existed  in  the  heathen  world.  If  we 
regard  him  as  an  actual  historical  personage,  we  shift  the 
boundary  line  separating  the  heathen  world  from  the  Church 
of  God,  and  pronounce  the  redemptive  means  set  up  by  God 
superfluous.  For  depth  of  religious  knowledge.  Job  stands 
higher  than  Abraham.  If  heathendom  could  produce  such 
characters, — if  it  could  penetrate  so  deeply  into  the  wisdom 
of  God,  no  other  revelation  was  needed.  We  have  no  right 
to  appeal  here  to  the  example  of  Melchizedek.  For,  apart 
from  the  fact  that  he  has  been  justly  described  as  the  setting 
sun  of  the  primeval  revelation,  there  is  in  Job  more  than  the 


318  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB. 

pure  monotheism  of  Meleliizedek,  there  is  a  fulness  and  depth 
of  divine  knowledge,  such  as  is  never  found  except  in  the 
sphere  of  revelation,  such  as  flows  forth  alone  from  the  sanc- 
tuary of  the  Lord,  and  such  as  is  peculiar  to  the  Church,  as 
the  only  salt  on  the  face  of  this  saltless  earth.  But  there  is 
no  difficulty  in  discerning  the  reason  why  the  author  should 
lay  the  scene  of  his  work  in  a  foreign  country,  if  we  regard 
it  as  free  and  poetical.  It  is  the  same  reason  as  that  which 
induced  him  to  go  back,  beyond  Moses,  into  the  patriarchal 
age,  and  to  avoid  the  names  of  Jehovah,  which  were  pecu- 
liarly dear  to  Israel.  He  does  not  wish  the  matter  to  be 
decided  from  the  law  of  God.  He  sets  aside  for  tlie  moment 
"what  is  written."  He  leaves  the  region  which  is  ruled  by 
the  law,  because  it  is  his  vocation,  independently  and  by 
direct  revelation,  to  furnish  a  solution  of  the  problem,  which 
shall  accord  with  the  hints  already  given  in  the  law.  The 
historical  truth  of  the  book  lies  in  an  utterly  different  region 
from  that  in  v/hich  it  is  usually  sought.  The  author  must 
himself  have  been  a  Job,  a  crossbearer  ;  he  must  himself  have 
wrestled  with  despair  ;  he  must  himself  have  been  comforted 
with  the  comfort  which  he  gives  to  others ;  he  must  himself 
have  repented  in  sackcloth  and  ashes.  For  only  through  his 
own  personal  experience  could  a  man  write  concerning  a 
mystery  of  God,  as  the  author  of  the  Book  of  Job  writes. 
This  higher  ideal  view  of  the  truth  of  the  narrative  is  quite 
sufficient  to  account  for  the  quotations  made  by  Ezekiel 
(chap.  xiv.  14-20),  and  by  James  (chap.  v.  11). 

Tlie  book  opens  with  a  description  of  Job's  life  and  character 
before  the  catastrophe,  taking  the  two  points  which  alone  were 
of  importance  for  his  purpose,  to  wit,  his  prosperity  and  his 
righteousness  based  in  piety.  At  the  close  of  the  opening  part 
he  describes  Job's  tenderness  of  conscience,  which  would  not 
allow  him  to  leave  un  atoned  even  apparently  slight  offi^nces, 
sinful  thoughts,  light  discourse,  useless  words,  such  as  men 
are  used  to  utter  in  the  merriment  of  social  intercourse,  and 
fits  and  ebullitions  of  worldly-mindedness.  Job  himself  does 
not  take  part  in  the  feasts  of  his  children  :  he  keeps  himself 
in  holy  stillness  and  in  priestly  retirement.  But  when  the 
feasts  have  gone  their  round,  he  comes  forth,  purifying  and 
atoning,  into  the  midst  of  his  children,  not  seeking  to  force 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB.  319 

upon  them  liis  own  views,  but  yet  taking  care  that  they  shall 
not  lose  sight  of  the  higher  rehxtions  of  life.  Now  lie  who 
stands  thus  in  the  midst  of  his  family  as  a  priest,  ought,  as 
it  seems,  and  as  Job  himself  thought,  to  be  sheltered  from  all 
the  strokes  of  fate.  But  it  happened  otherwise  ;  and  that  it 
did  so,  is  to  be  explained  from  the  fact  that  God's  view  of 
human  nature  is  different  from  men's,  that  He  discerns  faults 
even  in  His  saints.  "  Life  often  remains  clinging  to  a  straw, 
refusing  to  give  itself  up  entirely  to  death."  The  praise  given 
by  the  Hoty  Spirit  to  Job — "  the  same  man  was  simple  and 
upright,  one  that  feared  God,  and  eschewed  evil," — must  of 
course  have  full  truth.  But  when  any  one  has  attained  to 
this  degTee,  when  he  can  say  with  truth,  "  I  desire  to  have 
nought  to  do  with  the  world ;  with  that  money,  honour, 
pleasure,  on  which  so  much  industry  is  spent,"  sin  easily 
takes  another  shape  ;  a  man  is  threatened  with  the  danger  of 
being  puffed  up  because  of  his  righteousness,  of  being  no 
longer  willing  to  rank  as  a  poor  sinner,  of  becoming,  in  short, 
a  proud  saint.  Then  it  becomes  necessary  for  God  to  use  His 
rod  afresh,  and  to  strike  right  sharply.  For  this  disease  is 
very  hard  to  overcome.  Lesser  visitations  serve  often  only  to 
make  it  worse.  Spiritual  pride  finds  nourishment  in  becom- 
ing master  of  such  attacks,  in  showing  that  they  are  unable 
to  shake  its  faithfulness  towards  God. 

The  scene  is  then  transferred  to  heaven.  On  the  occasion 
of  a  solemn  assembly  of  the  angels  before  the  throne  of  God, 
Satan  also  presents  himself,  raises  doubts  regarding  Job's 
virtue,  and  demands  that  God  shall  prove  him  by  suffering. 
God  gives  him  power  over  Job,  with  the  limitation  that  he 
is  not  to  do  him  bodily  harm. 

Satan's  desire  and  endeavour  to  destroy  him  shows  that 
Job  was  a  man  of  honest  intent,  that  he  belonged  not  to 
those  who  say,  "  Lord,  Lord,"  but  to  those  who  sincerely 
strive  to  do  the  wiU  of  their  heavenly  Father.  God's  giving 
him  up  to  Satan  shows  that  there  was  still  something  in  him 
to  punish  and  to  improve  ;  that  he  still  needed  heavy  blows, 
if  he  should  escape  the  dangers  by  which  his  spiritual  life 
was  threatened. 

From  the  necessity  under  which  Satan  is  here  represented 
as  lying,  to  appear,  like  the  angels,  before  God's  throne,  and 


820  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB. 

to  beg  a  formal  permission,  ere  he  brings  suffering  on  Job,  we 
may  draw  the  consolatory  truth  that  he  is  in  his  hatred 
entirely  dependent  on  God,  -who  pledges  and  proves  His  com- 
passion and  grace  to  His  own  children.  Satan's  intentions  in 
laying  upon  them  the  cross  are  evil,  it  is  true,  but  against 
his  will  he  is  forced  to  accomplish  God's  designs,  which  always 
at  last  remain  victorious.  The  cross  brings  on  a  crisis  in 
Job's  history,  whose  final  result  is,  to  purge  him  from  the 
dross  of  self-righteousness  and  pride.  And  this  was  that  root 
of  sin  which  still  kept  its  seat  in  his  inmost  being.  Every 
man  has  such  a  root  of  sin  within  him,  and  none  dare  say  of 
Satan,  what  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God  said  of  him — "  He 
hath  nothing  in  me."  Even  the  most  intimate  disciples  of 
the  Lord,  even  the  holy  Apostles,  were  compelled  to  submit 
to  Satan's  request,  that  he  might  have  them,  to  sift  them  like 
wheat,  and  to  be  satisfied  if  only  their  faith  did  not  fail 
them. 

Bengel  says,  "  Satan  is  often  concealed  as  an  enemy  where 
we  should  never  dream  it."  In  the  Scriptures,  the  punish- 
ments of  the  wicked  are  directly  traced  back  to  the  Lord  and 
His  angels,  or  to  Christ.  Against  the  world,  which  is  his 
friend,  Satan  seeks  no  ground  of  complaint.  In  the  chastise- 
ments, however,  with  which  the  righteous  are  threatened, 
Satan  takes  part.  The  Father  in  heaven  turns,  as  it  were, 
his  face  away,  and  leaves  to  him  the  infliction  of  the  pain 
which  his  children  need.  Presupposing  Satan  to  be  abso- 
lutely dependent  on  God,  there  is  something  consolatory  in 
the  thought,  that  he  is  placed  in  the  matter  of  the  cross  be- 
tween us  and  God.  The  sufferings  with  which  we  are  visited 
have,  not  unfrequently,  what  may  be  almost  described  as  a 
malicious  character.  It  must  also  be  so,  because  it  is  in- 
tended that  each  one  be  assailed  in  his  most  sensitive  part, 
which  frequently  none  knows  save  God,  the  afilicted  man 
himself,  and  that  hateful  Satan,  who  has  a  very  keen  eye  for 
the  darker  side  of  human  nature.  Still,  it  is  a  good  thing 
that  we  cannot  trace  our  troubles  directly  back  to  God,  that 
our  heavenly  Father  only  permits,  and  that  Satan  devises 
and  executes.  The  question  put  by  a  savage,  "  Why  then 
does  not  God  strike  Satan  dead?"  ccmld  only  have  been 
retailed  as  apparently  ingenious  by  men  who  stood  spiritually 


TliK  BOOK  OF  JOB.  321 

on  a  level  with  the  savages.  Satan  is  a  very  important  ele- 
ment in  the  divine  economy.  God  needs  him,  and  He  there- 
fore keeps  him  until  He  shall  have  no  more  use  for  him. 
Then  will  he  be  banished  to  his  own  place.  The  Scriptures 
call  the  wicked  heathen  tyrant  Nebuchadnezzar  a  servant  of 
God.     They  might  give  Satan  the  same  name. 

Job  loses  everything  he  has  ;  first  his  property,  then  his 
children.  But  he  stands  firm  and  immovable  in  the  midst  of 
these  visitations.  "  Tlie  Lord,"  says  he,  "  gave,  and  the  Lord 
hath  taken  away,  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord."  The 
Lord  had  not  taken  away  from  him  anything  that  was  strictly 
his  own  ;  for  he  had  originally  nothing,  and  had  no  right  to 
lay  claim  to  anything.  God  did  but  require  back  that  which 
He  had  lent  of  pure  grace.  Let  it  fall,  then,  as  painfully  on 
Job  as  it  might,  how  could  he  complain  ?  Listead  of  mur- 
muring because  of  what  he  had  lost,  he  should  give  thanks 
for  what  he  had  received.  But  one  thing  is  still  lacking. 
Job  had  not  advanced  far  enough  to  recognize  in  his  sufferings 
the  righteous  punishment  of  his  sins,  and  the  chastisement 
necessary  for  his  salvation.  That  was  his  Achilles-heel.  And 
this  it  is  which  he  must  now  be  made  to  learn,  and  which,  at 
the  end  of  the  book,  we' find  that  he  has  learned,  after  hard 
and  severe  conflicts  and  sad  defeats.  The  final  result  is,  that 
he  is  transformed  from  a  dignified  righteous  man,  into  a  poor 
sinner.  Then,  all  at  once,  everything  is  made  plain — he  sees 
the  meaning  of  his  fate,  and  is  therein  to  be  counted  far 
happier  than  the  man  who  takes  his  flight  into  the  other 
world  with  the  sad  words  on  his  lips — "Then  shall  I  clearly 
see  and  know,  that  which  was  hard  and  dark  below." 

Even  after  Satan's  second  attack,  which  was  directed  against 
his  bodily  health.  Job  did  not  become  aware  of  his  defect. 
The  weakness  of  his  wife,  who  up  to  that  point  seems  to 
have  held  out  and  to  have  submitted  patiently,  even  to  the 
loss  of  all  her  children,  must  have  served  to  set  Job's  strength 
in  a  clearer  light.  "  Dost  thou  still  retain  thy  piety,"  says 
she  to  him,  "  bless  God  and  die."  Death  is  inevitable  and 
close  at  hand :  God's  grace  is  irrecoverably  lost.  Have  God, 
then,  at  all  events,  blessed,  and  die  and  perish  in  a  moment. 
Thou  hadst  long  ago  done  more  wisely  to  bid  God  farewell ' 
The  j)Oor  woman  luis  been  severely  handled  by  commentators 
X 


822  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB. 

on  account  of  these  words.  Spanheira  calls  her  a  second 
Xantippe,  and  maintains  that  she  was  left  to  Job  as  a  thorn 
in  his  flesh  after  his  recovery.  J.  D.  Michaelis  thinks  she 
alone  remained  to  Job  in  order  that  the  measure  of  his  suf- 
fermgs  might  be  full.  It  must,  however,  be  taken  into  con- 
sideration, that  her  despair  was  rooted  in  the  heartiest  and 
tenderest  love  to  her  husband.  In  all  their  previous  losses 
she  had  allowed  herself  to  be  kept  in  restraint  by  Job's  own 
submissiveness.  And  had  the  pains  of  disease  befallen  herself, 
she  would  probably  still  have  resisted  her  despair.  Job,  how- 
ever, does  not  suffer  himself  to  be  dragged  down  by  his  wife  ; 
he  finds  means,  on  the  contrary,  of  raising  her  up.  "  Thou 
speakest  as  the  foolish  women  speak,"  says  he  to  her ;  he 
does  not  say,  "  Thou  art  a  foolish  woman,"  but  "  thou  art  be- 
coming unlike  thyself,  thou  art  entering  into  a  circle  to  which 
thou  hast  hitherto  remained  a  stranger."  "  Do  we  receive  the 
good  from  God,  and  shall  we  not  also  accept  the  evil  ?"  It  is 
the  same  Giver  who  oflei's  both ;  and  He  well  deserves  that 
yre  should  take  everything  from  Him  without  question.  As 
during  the  first  stage  of  his  sufferings,  so  also  during  the 
second,  it  is  expressly  remarked  that  Job  "  in  all  this  sinned 
not  with  his  lips."  We  expect  now  that  something  will  soon 
occur  to  break  Job's  stedfastness,  and  to  lead  him  to  sin  with 
his  tongue.  We  do  not,  however,  at  once  see  what  this  can 
be,  inasmuch  as  he  has  already  lost  everything  without  his 
submissiveness  to  God's  will  being  shaken.      The  sequel  tells. 

Three  friends  of  Job,  Eliphaz,  Bildad,  and  Zophar,  hear  of  his 
misfortune  and  come  to  console  him.  They  find  him  in  a 
most  mournful  position,  set  themselves  by  his  side  in  ashes, 
and  remain  seven  days  long,  sitting  speechless.  After  that 
Job  opened  his  mouth  and  cursed  his  day. 

How  is  it  to  be  explained,  that  so  great  a  change  comes 
suddenly  over  Job  ;  that  he  who  just  before  was  still  all  sub- 
mission, and  could  even  rush  to  the  help  of  his  wife,  the  weaker 
vessel,  now  all  at  once  breaks  out  with  the  words — "  Let  the 
day  perish  when  I  was  born!"  and  so  forth?  To  curse  one's 
existence,  is  to  dispute  with  God,  who  gave  it, — is  thankless- 
ly to  forget  in  the  pain  that  blessing  which,  though  often 
deeply  concealed,   never  utterly   fails, — is,   unbelievingly,  to 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB.  323 

despair  of  the  happy  issue  of  our  sufferings,  and,  consequently, 
of  God's  grace  and  righteousness. 

The  solution  of  the  problem  lies  here.  "Wliere,  in  our  Eng- 
lish version,  it  is  simply  said, — "  And  Job  opened  his  mouth," 
we  read  in  the  original  text, — "  And  J  oh' ansivered  and  said." 
His  friends  had  not  uttered  a  syllable  ;  but  they  had  clearly 
enough  spoken  to  him  by  their  looks.  Job  read  in  their 
countenances  that  their  thoughts  were  busy  with  his  right- 
eousness ;  that  they  wished  to  deliver  him  a  lecture  of  reproof; 
that  they  only  waited  the  opportunity  to  enter  on  their  Avork 
of  advocacy  of  God.  He  read  beforehand  in  their  soul  all  that 
they  afterwards  uttered.  That  their  stillness  is  not  to  be 
ascribed  to  the  depth  of  their  sympathy,  is  clear  even  from  the 
words  which  give  the  reason  of  it, — "  for  they  saw  that  the 
pain  was  very  great," — not  "  for  their  pain  was  very  great." 
They  could  not  straightway  administer  consolation  to  Job. 
According  to  their  view,  their  prime  duty  was  to  bring  him 
to  a  consciousness  of  his  heavy  guilt.  They  waited  to  catch 
him  in  a  mood  favourable  for  such  a  reproving  lecture.  Hence 
they  held  their  tongues,  until  Job,  irritated  to  the  utmost  by 
their  long  silence,  himself  began  the  conversation,  and  forced 
them  to  come  forward  with  their  view. 

Job  was  now  assailed  on  his  weak  side.  To  all  other  modes 
of  suffering  he  had  been  equal,  but  that  it  should  be  adduced 
in  proof  of  his  guilt — that  he  should  be  robbed  of  his  righteous- 
ness, that  last  possession  to  which  he  had  so  convulsively 
clung,  and  concerning  which  he  himself  exclaims,- — ■"  My 
righteousness  do  I  retain,  and  do  not  let  go  ;  not  one  of  my 
days  does  my  heart  despise," — was  too  much  for  him.  Be- 
cause God,  who  had  sent  the  sufferings,  on  whose  evidence 
the  charge  was  brought  against  him,  was  also  the  cause  of  this 
last  and  heaviest  loss,  he  vents  his  indignation  straightway 
against  Him.  His  friends  he  regards  only  as  interpreters  of 
the  text  composed  by  God. 

The  charge  brought  by  Job  against  God  gives  rise  to  a  dis- 
pute between  him  and  his  friends,  which  is  can-ied  on  with 
ever  increasing  passionateness.  This  dispute  is  divided  into 
three  cycles.  The  first  two  fall  into  three  subdivisions,  com- 
prising the  discourses  uttered  by  the  three  friends,  and  Job's 
separate  answers.      The  last  consists  of  two  subdivisions  only. 


^•24t  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB. 

the  third  friend,  Zophar,  having  nothing  more  to  say.  Through 
his  silence  the  author  intimates  to  us  the  defeat  of  all  three 
friends,  who  had  made  common  cause. 

The  view  taken  by  the  friends  is  the  following: — that  sin 
and  suffering  are  measured  out  by  God,  as  it  were,  ounce  for 
ounce — so  much  sin,  so  much  suffering.  One  man  is  just  so 
much  better  than  another,  as  he  is  happier.  He  who  is  as  un- 
fortunate as  Job,  must  assuredly  be,  not  merely  a  sinner,  but 
a  criminal.  To  doubt  this  is  to  do  dishonour  to  God.  And 
even  if,  in  the  case  of  a  man  suffering  severely,  like  Job,  we 
do  not  actually  know  of  any  great  crime,  we  must  still  assume 
that  he  has  committed  one,  in  order  to  save  God's  honour. 
Nor  may  we  allow  ourselves  to  be  deceived,  even  though 
appearances  be  of  the  fairest  kind.  These  only  show  that  the 
pretended  saint  is  a  thoroughly  skilled  hypocrite. 

This  view  is  characteristic  of  a  6w^9e7;/?cia7  'piety.  Open  un- 
godliness shuts  out  God  entirely  from  earthly  matters,  and 
ascribes  suffering  to  chance.  The  entire  dispute  is  carried  on 
in  the  book  of  Job  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  fear  of  God. 
But  because  this  view  is  that  of  a  superficial  piety,  it  is,  for 
that  very  reason,  popular.  In  Elihu's  discourse  (chap,  xxxii.  1 9), 
it  is  expressly  described  as  that  of  the  "many;" — "  Not  the 
many  are  wise,"  says  Elihu  in  reply.  In  the  sphere  of  religion 
that  saying,  "  Yox  populi,  vox  Dei,"  does  not  hold  good.  There, 
on  the  contrary,  that  which  is  popular  is  usually  the  superfi- 
cial, the  shallow.  That  this  view"  is  the  popular  one,  the 
author  intimates,  in  giving  it  no  less  than  three  representa- 
tives. The  fundamental  error  of  the  three  friends  is  a  coarse 
external  conception  of  sin,  which  leads  them  to  conclude,  from 
Job's  sufferings,  that  he  has  committed  some  palpable  trans- 
gression. They  are  only  acquainted  with  individual  sins  :  of 
the  essence  of  sin  they  have  no  knowledge.  F<jr  this  reason 
sufferings  appear  reasonable  to  them,  only  when  they  are  meted 
out,  piece  by  piece,  to  individual  offences.  They  have  only  an 
eye  for  such  commands  as,  "  Thou  shalt  not  steal,"  "  thou  shalt 
not  commit  adultery,"  which  they  do  not  consider  in  their  roots, 
as  did  our  Lord  in  the  sermon  on  the  mount,  after  the  example 
of  the  prophets,  and  even  of  Moses  himself:  they  only  looked  at 
the  outward  appearance.  From  that  command,  on  the  contrary, 
"  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thine  heart,  and 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB.  825 

with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  strength,"  they  turn  away 
their  eyes,  or  else  give  themselves  up  to  the  strangest  delu- 
sions regarding  it.  Hence  are  they  perfectly  satisfied  with 
their  own  fulfilment  of  the  law,  and  find  it  perfectly  orderly 
and  just  that  things  should  go  well  with  them.  And  wdien 
severe  sufferings  liefal  their  neighbour,  they  look  down  upon 
him  with  lofty  eyes,  and  search  everywhere  until  they  have 
discovered  either  the  fact  or  the  possibility  of  heavy  guilt. 
The  troubles  of  their  neighbours  seem  in  some  way  to  do  them 
good.  They  are  the  seal  to  their  own  excellence.  Had  Job's 
friends  known  human  nature  or  themselves  aright,  they  would 
have  cried  out  when  they  beheld  his  sufferings, — "  If  this  is 
done  in  the  gi-een  tree,  what  shall  be  done  in  the  dry?"  "  God 
be  merciful  to  us  sinners!"  A  characteristic  of  the  friends  is 
their  want  of  pitiful  love.  With  unrelenting  consequence 
they  apply  their  theological  prejudices  to  the  case  of  their  poor 
friend  sitting  in  ashes,  and  smitten  by  the  hand  of  God.  They 
make  no  eflEbrt  to  enter  into  his  position  and  feelings  :  they 
talk  at  him  without  intermission.  He  only  can  exercise  com- 
passion who  has  himself  received  compassion,  and  to  this  be- 
longs a  recognition  of  our  own  sins.  All  Pelagianism — or  if 
the  biblical  name  be  preferred — all  Pharisaism,  where  it  is  not 
a  question  of  phrases,  alms,  and  other  such  external  matters,  is 
at  the  bottom  unmerciful,  uncompassionate.  Had  the  friends 
had  any  true  pitiful  love,  they  would  have  corrected  their  view 
by  means  of  the  very  case  before  them.  Perhaps  the  reason 
why  the  author  gives  such  a  vivid  representation  of  this  wide- 
spread view  is,  that  he  himself  had  formerly  entertained  it, 
and  had  skilfully  applied  it  to  poor  sufferers  whom  he  had 
encountered.  The  three  friends,  Job  and  Elihu,  may  be  re- 
garded as  representing  three  different  stages  in  the  ways  of 
the  Lord,  all  wdiicli  the  author  himself,  without  doubt,  had 
passed  through.  First,  he  had  stood  proudly  by  the  side  of 
other  sufferers  ;  then  he  himself  had  wrestled  with  despair  in 
suffering,  because  he  was  unwilling  to  renounce  his  self- 
righteousness  ;  till  at  last  he  fought  his  way  with  Elihu  to 
full  and  clear  knowledge. 

With  all  this  there  is  no  denying  that  there  is  an  import- 
ant element  of  truth  in  the  discourses  of  the  friends,  and  that 
usually  they  only  err  in  the  application  of  the  general  principle 


'326  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB. 

to  the  case  in  hand.  This  application  the  author  lets  them 
make  silently,  and  hence  their  discourses,  judged  merely  by 
their  sound,  express,  for  the  most  part,  only  tnith.  This  high 
truth  is  the  knoivledge  of  the  close  connection  between  sin  and 
suffering,  of  which  a  presentiment  runs  through  the  whole  of 
the  ancient  world,  and  is  ineffaceably  impressed  on  the  human 
heart.  In  solving  the  problem,  the  task  is,  to  reconcile  the 
element  of  truth,  which  lay  on  the  side  of  the  friends,  with 
that  which  was  on  Job's  side  when  he  maintained  his  right- 
eousness against  those  who  charged  him  with  coarse  transgi'es- 
sions,  and  at  the  same  time  to  trace  back  both  errors  to  that 
common  source  out  of  which  they  plainly  flow,  namely,  the 
want  of  a  deeper  knowledge  of  sin.  The  author  recognised 
that  there  was  truth  in  the  discourses  of  the  fi-iends,  as  is 
plain,  both  from  the  free  and  full  play  which  he  allows  them, 
and  from  the  favourable  light  in  which,  on  the  whole,  they  are 
placed.  So  decided  is  this,  that  sayings  have  been  adduced 
by  the  Church  in  all  ages  from  these  discourses,  as  if  they  were 
fair  representations  of  divine  truth  : — for  example,  even  the 
Apostle  Paul  does  so  in  1  Corinthians  iii.  19,  alluding  to  what 
Eliphaz  advances  in  chap.  v.  1 3. 

In  the  discourses  of  Job  against  the  friends,  a  distinction 
must  be  drawn  between  that  which  flows  from  his  own  funda- 
mental view,  and  that  which  belongs  to  the  sphere  concerning 
Avhich  he  himself  remarks — "  to  the  wind  are  the  words  of 
him  who  is  in  despair."  Further,  "  my  sufferings  are  heavier 
than  the  sand  on  the  sea-shore,  therefore  are  my  words  irra- 
tional," (chap.  vi.  3.)  In  the  warmth  of  his  feelings,  Job 
frequently  goes  so  far  as  to  represent  God  as  the  fierce  enemy 
and  persecutor  of  all  the  righteous  on  earth,  as  almighty  arbi- 
trariness and  unrighteousness,  and  expresses  accordingly,  utter 
despair  of  a  favourable  turn  in  his  affairs,  and  the  conviction 
that  God  will  never  rest  till  He  has  brought  him  to  complete 
ruin.  It  is  a  holy  stroke  of  art  on  the  part  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  from  whom  the  Scripture  has  its  origin,  that  He  allows 
free  and  distinct  expression  to  all  the  thoughts  of  the  pious, 
even  to  those  which  are  due  to  the  saddest  weakness  of  the 
flesh,  and  then  shows  how  they  are  to  be  overcome.  Even  a 
Byron  was  unable  to  outdo  this  book ;  it  leaves  him  far 
behind.      Then,  again,  when  in  a  calmer  mood,  Job  confesses 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB.  3:^7 

that  God's  righteousness  may  usually  be  seen  in  the  govprn- 
ment  of  the  world,  and  only  represents  his  own  sufferings  as 
an  incomprehensible  exception.  Here  and  there,  too,  he  rises 
to  a  joyful  hope — most  gloriously  when  the  confession  burst 
from  him,  "  I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth"  (chap,  xix.)  as 
though  the  sun  of  faith  had  suddenly  shone  with  full  clearness 
through  the  clouds  of  pain  and  rebellion,  only,  however,  alas  I 
to  be  soon  again  darkened. 

Job  at  last  forces  his  friends  to  silence.  Their  case  ship- 
wi'ecks  on  their  incapability  of  bringing  proof  of  the  crimes 
which  they  are  compelled  to  lay  to  Job's  charge,  and  on  the 
fact  that  they  are  not  only  struggling  against  appearances,  but, 
as  they  afterwards  find  out,  against  their  own  conscience 
also.  It  is  owing  to  the  character  borne  by  Job's  discourses  pre- 
viously mentioned,  namely,  to  the  interweaving  of  passion  and 
conviction  in  them,  that  he  is  not  allowed  to  quit  the  arena 
as  soon  as  the  friends  give  up  the  conflict.  Before  retiring, 
he  lays  before  us,  in  the  closing  discourse,  (chap,  xxvii — 
xxxi)  a  complete,  calm  and  dispassionate  statement  of  his 
views.  Here  we  get  the  standard  by  which  to  tiy  all 
his  earlier  discourses.  Job  declares,  that  he  still  keeps 
to  the  assertion  of  his  own  innocence,  but  that  he  notwith- 
standing recognises  how,  usually,  punishment  follows  on  guilt ; 
retracting  whatever  he  had  previously  advanced  in  seeming 
conflict  with  this  proposition.  Did  he  not  do  this  ;  did  he  on 
the  contrar}^  declare  w^ar  in  general  against  the  eternally  true 
proposition,  that  sin  is  the  ruin  of  men,  the  lively  carrying 
out  and  illustration  of  which  gives  the  discourses  of  his 
friends  so  high  a  value — and  in  the  heat  of  passion  he  had 
frequently  done  so  before — then  would  Job  be  inferior  to  his 
friends,  and  there  would  seem  to  be  no  foundation  for  that 
final  judgment  of  God's,  whereby  the  very  contrary  was 
affinued.  Peculiar  are  the  arguments  by  which  Job  supports 
the  proposition  in  the  28th  chapter,  a  chapter  which  has  often 
been  misunderstood,  and  quoted  in  favour  of  that  incompre- 
hensibility of  the  course  of  divine  providence  the  urging  of 
which  gave  Rationalism  a  great  show  of  piety.  In  the  course 
of  a  brilliant  picture,  Job  proves  that  wisdom  is  not  one  of 
the  possessions  attainable  by  men  in  their  own  strength,  but 
one  of  the  glorious  privileges  of  God.      From  this  he  draws 


32b  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB. 

the  conclusion,  that  it  can  only  become  ours  in  a  moral  and 
religious  way,  that  is,  through  our  entering  into  union  with 
God  and  becoming  participators  of  His  spirit.  If  this  be  true, 
the  ungodly  are  excluded  from  it ;  and  are  by  consequence 
given  over  to  unavoidable"  ruin.  For  whoso  lacks  wisdom 
must  rush  blindly  on  destruction.  The  sea  of  this  world  hides 
so  many  rocks  that  a  vessel  whose  rudder  is  not  in  the  hand 
of  wisdom*  must  of  necessity  soon  suffer  shipwreck. 

Notwithstanding  Job's  repeated  efforts,  the  problem  still  re- 
mains to  perplex  him,  the  mystery  of  his  sufferings  still  remains 
unexplained  ;  a  further  examination  is  therefore  absolutely 
necessary.  He  himself  puts  this  clearly  before  us  in  the 
second  part  of  his  concluding  discourse,  in  that  he  gives  a  de- 
tailed description  of  his  uprightness  and  of  his  guiltless  con- 
duct, and  sets  in  strong  contrast  therewith  his  severe  afflictions. 
Examining  the  matter  superficially,  one  can  see  no  possibility 
of  a  satisfactory  solution  of  the  riddle,  and  may  easily  fall  into 
the  notion,  that  there  is  nothing  for  it  but  to  refer  all  to  the 
incomprehensibility  of  God's  ways  ; — a  course  which  conducts 
to  Atheism.  If,  however,  we  search  more  deeply,  an  outlet 
presents  itself  Notwithstanding  the  apparent  completeness 
of  Job's  enumeration  of  the  sins  he  had  avoided,  notwith- 
standing the  loftiness  of  his  moral  point  of  view,  which  led 
him  to  regard  the  confidence  placed  in  gold  as  not  less  an 
execrable  sin  than  idolatry,  commonly  so  called — which  made 
him  consider  it  as  a  great  sin  to  exult,  whether  in  the  great- 
ness of  our  own  possessions  or  in  the  misfortunes  which  befal 
our  enemies  ;  notwithstanding  that  Job  unmistakeably  con- 
siders sin  as  an  inward  thing,  treating  not  merely  the  sinful 
act  but  also  the  first  hidden  germ  thereof,  namely,  sinful  desire 
(chap.  xxxi.  J ),  as  worthy  of  condemnation  and  curse,  still,  he 
passes  over  one  main  class  of  sins  in  silence,  evidently  because 
his  eyes  had  not  yet  been  opened  to  see  them.  It  is  God's 
method  to  reveal  to  us  by  degrees  the  depths  of  our  corrup- 
tion ;  were  He  to  do  it  all  at  once  we  should  be  liable  to  fall 
into  despair.  These  sins  were  those  of  haughtiness,  self- 
righteousness,  pride  in  his  own  virtue.  We  expect  that  the 
impending  decision  of  the  dispute  will  turn  on  this  point. 
And  the  fresh  and  complete  exposition  of  the  difficulties  with 
which  Job's  concluding  speech  is  occupied  make  us  exceedingly 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB.  329 

eager  to  learn  the  nature  of  the  decision.  In  distinction  from 
the  earlier  ones  it  is  marked  by  the  calmness  of  its  tone. 
Passion's  storm  is  hushed,  now  that  the  friends  who  stiiTcd  it 
up,  are  forced  to  silence.  A  quiet  sadness  takes  the  place  of 
the  defiance,  of  the  excited  murmurs  against  God,  of  the 
questioning  of  His  right,  and  of  the  challenges  which  were 
previously  observable.  We  see  throughout  that  Job  is  now 
in  the  mood  to  accept  joyfully  the  solution  which  may  be 
offered  to  him  ;  for  by  himself  he  cannot  find  it,  nor  indeed  can 
poor  miserable  man  attain  to  anything  unless  it  be  given  him 
from  heaven.  Everywhere  there  presses  itself  on  our  notice 
a  presentiment  that  we  are  on  the  threshold  of  an  explanation. 
We  feel  the  soft  breath  of  that  grace  which  prepares  the 
soul  for  the  instruction  to  be  communicated  through  Elihu. 
At  the  close  of  chap.  xxxi.  it  is  said,  "  the  words  of  Job  have 
an  end."  The  intimation  is  thus  given  us,  that  an  entirely 
new  section  commences.  Job  was  able  to  act  a  dignified  part 
towards  the  friends,  and  having  at  last  reduced  them  to  com- 
plete dumbness,  he  now  remained  alone  on  the  scene  of  conflict, 
and  the  words  quoted  are  intended  to  mark  the  boundary  line 
between  him,  on  the  one  side,  and  Elihu,  God's  servant,  and 
God  Himself,  on  the  other  side.  The  latter  he  finds  to  be  in- 
disputably his  superiors.  Job's  time  for  speaking  now  ceases : 
the  time  to  keep  silence  has  begun.  Henceforward  he  never 
opens  his  lips,  save  to  express  his  readiness  to  keep  silence 
and  to  lay  his  hand  on  his  mouth.  The  three  words  (for  there 
are  no  more  in  the  original  text)  are  rich  in  meaning.  All 
words  spoken  against  God,  come,  after  a  brief  season,  to  an 
end,  either  of  grace,  as  in  Job's  case,  who  begs  that  the  folly  of 
his  discourses  may  be  forgiven,  or  of  lurath,  when  the  mouth 
that  uttereth  gi-eat  things  is  closed  with  violence. 

Elihu  now  quits  the  circle  of  hearers  within  which  he  had 
quietly  kept  himself  up  to  this  point.  Why  he  is  described 
as  a  youth,  may  be  learnt  from  the  words  which  the  author 
puts  in  his  mouth  : — "  I  thought,  let  days  speak,  and  let 
the  multitude  of  years  prove  wisdom.  But  the  Spirit  is  in 
man,  (on  that  all  depends  !)  and  the  breath  of  the  Almighty 
giveth  them  understanding.  Not  the  many  are  wise  :  neither 
do  the  aged  understand  judg-ment."  Majorities  are  without 
w  eight  in  the  Church,  and  in  spiritual  things  age  does  not  at 


330  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB. 

all  carry  £he  weight  which  belongs  to  it  in  the  affairs  of  com- 
mon life.  One  inexperienced  youth  ivWi  the  Spirit  of  God  is 
wiser  than  loud  multitudes  and  grey  heads,  and  even  than  the 
Coryphsei  of  wisdom  without  it.  Besides,  a  youth  is  the  most 
fitting  representative  of  a  truth  which  is  here  introduced  with 
freshness  and  vigour  into  the  midst  of  the  Church  of  God. 

Elihu's  entrance  is  introduced  as  follows  : — "  And  the  three 
men  ceased  to  answer  Job,  for  he  was  righteous  in  his  own 
eyes.  Then  was  enkindled  the  wrath  of  Elihu ;  against  Job 
was  his  wrath  kindled,  because  he  declared  his  own  soul  to  be 
more  just  than  God.  And  against  his  three  friends  was  his 
wrath  kindled,  because  they  found  no  answer,  and  therefore 
condemned  Job."  The  situation  is  thus  set  distinctly  before 
us.  Job's  fault  is  represented  to  be,  that  he  was  righteous  in 
his  own  eyes.  This  necessarily  and  invariably  leads  those 
who  are  \'isited  with  severe  afflictions,  to  the  sad  point  of 
declaring  themselves  to  be  more  righteous  than  God  : — which 
is  to  turn  everything  upside  down.  Self-righteousness  deems 
itself  to  have  fulfilled  all  its  obligations  to  God.  And  because 
it  can  see  in  the  sufierings,  which  are  in  reality  inflicted  be- 
cause of  sinfulness,  and  are  capable  of  justification  on  that 
ground,  only  unrighteous  arbitrariness,  it  sets  forth  God  as 
less  righteous  than  man,  and  so  inverts  the  natural  relation 
of  the  Creator  to  the  creature.  Access  to  the  source  of  all 
consolation  is  thus  cut  off,  and  the  way  of  the  return  of  sal- 
vation barred.  This  is  a  very  dangerous  side  of  Pelagianism. 
In  this  respect  most  men  live  only  on  mercy.  If  God  did  not 
spare  them,  but  visited  them  as  He  vi.sited  Job,  they  would 
fall  into  a  state  of  formal  rebellion  against  God,  and  would 
openly  declare  themselves  His  "  personal  enemies  ;"  or  else, 
which  is  the  lowest  stage  of  all,  the  stage  when  man  renounces 
his  true  humanity,  they  would  deny  His  existence.  The 
friends  could  not  heal  Job's  disease,  because  they  themselves 
had  a  too  superficial  'knowledge  of  human  sinfulness.  Not 
knowing  how  to  meet  Job's  presumption  in  the  right  way, 
they  reproach  him  with  heavy  individual  crimes.  To  con- 
vince Job  of  the  condemnableness  of  his  self-righteousness, 
against  which  the  friends  had  broken  their  power,  is  plainly 
the  task  which  Elihu  has  now  to  accomplish. 

Elihu  agrees  with  the  friends  in  recognising  that  all  suffer- 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOE.  331 

ing  is  a  punishment :  but  diverges  from  them  in  that  he 
shows  suifering  to  have  another  aspect.  There  is  a  suffering 
which  has  its  origin  not  merely  in  the  divine  righteousness, 
but  at  the  same  time  also  in  the  principle  of  love,  and  which 
therefore  may,  nay  more,  must  be  inflicted  on  the  righteous, 
in  order  that  he  may  see  and  be  purified  from  the  sin  still 
cleaving  to  him,  and  be  fitted  for  the  higher  blessings  of  re- 
demption. In  opposition  to  the  bare  idea  of  punishment, 
Elihu  sets  that  of  chastisement: — an  idea  which  modern  times 
find,  alas  !  difficult  of  understanding.  Tliey  speak  only  of  trial, 
and  of  that  mostly  without  any  distinct  conception  of  its  nature. 

As  this  portion  is  the  very  heart  and  life  of  the  book,  we 
shall  quote  the  principal  passages  literally. 

"  For,"  says  Elihu,  "  God  speaketh  once,  yea  twice,  if  man 
giveth  not  heed  thereto.  In  the  dream  of  the  nightly  vision, 
when  deep  sleep  falleth  upon  men,  in  slumber  on  the  bed. 
Then  openeth  he  the  ear  of  men,  and  sealeth  their  admoni- 
tion. That  he  may  withdraw  man  from  his  doings,  and  hide 
jpride  from  the  man.  He  preserveth  his  soul  from  the  pit, 
and  his  life  from  falling  under  the  sword." 

Even  he  that  standeth  must  take  heed  lest  he  fall.  Espe- 
cially in  pride  has  the  righteous  still  ever  a  dangerous  enemy. 
God's  compassionate  love,  therefore,  sends  from  time  to  time 
emphatic  imvarcl  monitors,  as  by  significant  di-eams,  which 
are  here  mentioned  solely  by  way  of  example. 

But  the  matter  is  not  allowed  to  rest  there.  Inward  moni- 
tions are  but  the  prelude  to  visitations,  and  are  meant  to  pre- 
pare the  soil  for  these  latter.  He  who  walks  uprightly  in  the 
ways  of  the  Lord,  wiU  have  found  by  experience  that  a  heavy 
cross  seldom  falls  on  one  who  is  imprepared  for  it,  that  the 
time  chosen  is  usually  one  in  which  the  heart  has  been  pecu- 
liarly drawn  upwards  ;  but  also,  that  it  seldom  fails  to  come 
when  such  a  strong  and  gracious  drawing  has  been  felt. 
Elihu  says  further,  "  he  is  chastened  also  witli  pain  on  his  bed, 
and  the  conflict  in  his  bones  is  unceasing.  And  he  loathes  all 
manner  of  food,  and  his  soul  despiseth  dainty  dishes."  And 
so  forth,  is  a  severe  disease  described,  one  being  specified  out 
of  the  whole  number  of  painful  visitations  by  way  of  example, 
just  as  the  dream  is  made  to  represent  inward  monitions. 

But  that  the  ruin  of  the  righteous  is  not  intended,  that  in 


332  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB. 

the  infliction  of  suffering  love  goes  hand  in  hand  with  right- 
eousness, is  made  plain  by  the  issue,  which,  when  the  sufl!erer 
does  not  by  his  own  fault  bar  the  way  of  salvation,  separates 
the  righteous  from  the  wicked.  Elihu  proceeds,  "  If  then  a 
mediator-angel  taketh  his  part,  one  of  a  thousand,  that  he 
may  show  unto  man  his  duty.  Then  He  is  gracious  to  him, 
and  saith,  deliver  him  from  going  down  to  the  pit,  I  have  re- 
ceived a  ransom,  (Repentance !)  He  crieth  to  God  and  He 
showeth  Himself  gracious  to  him,  he  beholdeth  his  face  in  joy, 
and  God  giveth  back  unto  man  his  righteousness."  The  medi- 
ating angel  represents  all  influences  fwm  above,  by  which  the 
heart  of  the  suflferer  is  awakened  to  genuine  repentance.  The 
ministering  spirits  which  are  sent  forth  to  minister  unto  them 
who  shall  inherit  blessedness,  (Heb.  i.  14,)  stand  invisible 
round  about  the  sufferer's  bed  of  anguish,  and  v/hisper  in  his 
ear.  Were  it  not  so,  such  earthly  messengers  of  God,  as 
Elihu,  would  speak  to  the  winds.  These  latter  however  must 
also  do  their  part,  as  we  are  vividly  taught  by  the  example  of 
Elihu. 

The  second  principal  passage  runs  as  follows  : — "  and  when 
they  are  bound  in  fetters  and  held  in  the  cords  of  affliction. 
Then  showeth  he  them  by  their  work  and  their  transgressions, 
that  they  have  become  proud.  (This  was  another  noia  bene 
for  Job.)  He  openeth  also  their  ear  to  admonition,  and  com- 
mandeth  that  they  return  from  iniquity.  If  they  then  hear 
and  serve,  (submitting  themselves  to  God's  will  and  repenting,) 
they  spend  their  days  in  prosperity  and  their  years  in  joy. 
But  if  they  hear  not,  they  perish  by  the  sword,  and  die 
through  their  own  folly.  He  saveth  the  wretched  by  his 
wretchedness,  and  openeth  by  oppression  their  ear."  In  these 
last  words  we  have  the  quintessence  of  Elihu's  entire  argu- 
ment. The  friends  also  set  before  Job,  in  the  case  of  his  con- 
version, the  prospect  of  a  return  of  prosperity  and  salvation. 
But  to  them  suffering  appeared  only  as  punishment,  and  they 
were  very  far  from  recognising  in  it  an  outflow  of  the  love  of 
God,  a  disguised  grace. 

The  carrying  out  of  this  view  occupies  the  first  of  Elihu's 
four  discourses.  In  the  second,  he  shows  that  the  position 
taken  up  towards  God  ))y  Job,  in  maintaining  that  he  has 
been  unrighteously  handled,  is  inconsistent  with  his  own  esti- 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB.  333 

mate  of  the  divine  nature.  Job's  weak  and  foolish  attack  on 
the  divine  righteousness  makes  shipwreck  on  the  glory  of  the 
divine  nature  as  manifested  in  the  works  of  creation.  The 
Omnipotence  and  wisdom  of  God,  with  which  we  everywhere 
meet,  furnishes  an  indirect  testimony  to  his  righteousness. 
For  the  single  attributes  of  the  divine  nature  are  all  of  them 
but  as  rays  proceeding  from  the  one  centre.  Where  one  is, 
there  also  must  of  necessity  the  others  be.  How  could  the 
being  which  everj^where  shows  itself  to  be  most  perfect,  lay 
itself  open  in  such  a  way  on  this  one  point  ?  Every  witness 
therefore,  in  nature,  to  God's  greatness  as  a  Creator,  rises 
againsu  the  accusers  of  God's  righteousness.  Whoso  will 
bring  a  charge  against  God's  justice,  must  first  measure  him- 
self with  the  divine  omnipotence.  If  this  argumentation 
proves  that  God  must  necessarily  be  righteous,  we  shall  be  all 
the  more  ready  to  enter  on  the  reasons  contained  in  Elihu's 
second  discourse,  why  God  may  be  just,  and  yet  the  righteous 
suffer.  At  first  sight  it  must  occasion  surprise,  that  the  mirtd 
of  the  suffering  righteous  is  directed  to  the  wondrous  forma- 
tion of  the  clouds,  of  thunder  and  lightning,  of  snow,  and 
afterwards,  in  the  answer  of  God,  to  the  war-horse,  to  the 
hawk,  to  the  raven,  to  the  behemoth  or  hippopotamus,  to  the 
leviathan  or  crocodile.  And  yet,  more  carefully  examined,  we 
see  that  such  a  course  was  fully  adapted  to  its  purpose. 
An  almighty,  all-knowing,  and  all-wise  God,  who  is  not  at  the 
same  time  righteous,  is  in  truth  an  unthinkable  thought.  For 
this  reason,  those  who  doubt  God's  righteousness,  are  always 
on  the  high  road  to  doubt  His  existence.  Pelagianism  leads 
not  merely  to  the  destruction  of  the  true  idea  of  God,  but  also 
to  complete  Atheism.  It  is  therefore  a  great  blessing  to  be, 
like  Job,  firmly  rooted  in  God.  Then,  should  we  fall  into  error 
regarding  one  side  of  the  divine  nature,  we  shall  be  able  to 
lift  ourselves  up  by  cleaving  all  the  more  firmly  to  another. 
By  and  bye,  even  the  dark  side  will  become  light. 

Elihu's  third  discourse,  (chap,  xxxv.,)  laysthold  on  Job  again 
from  another  side.  Job  had  stood  up  as  if  he  were  in  a  posi- 
tion to  lay  claims,  and  plead  merits.  He  had  behaved  to- 
wards God  like  an  impatient  creditor.  What  perversity  !  As 
little  as  man  can  harm  God  by  his  sin,  so  little  can  he  benefit 
Him  by  his  virtue.     Hence,  when  God  rewards  the  righteous- 


334  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB. 

ness  of  man,  He  does  it  out  of  pure  grace  :  if  he  withholds 
rewards  none  can  bring  against  Him  the  charge  of  injustice. 
The  All-sufficient  One  does  not  need  man,  and  it  is  therefore 
foolish  in  us  to  demand  and  fume,  and  murmur.  When  suf- 
ferings come  upon  us,  our  only  part  is,  to  make  sorrowful 
lament,  humbly  to  beg,  patiently  to  wait,  and  belie vingiy  to  hope. 
Whoso  is  incapable  of  this,  must  blame  himself  if  God  does 
not  hear,  and  the  Almighty  does  not  regard,  his  vain  cries, 
that  is,  the  empty  pretensions  expressed  in  his  prayers. 

Elihu's  fourth  and  last  discourse  falls  into  two  divisions. 
In  the  first  (that  is,  up  to  chap,  xxxvi.  21)  he  carries  out 
more  completely  what  he  had  previously  advanced  to  prove 
that  the  infliction  of  suffering  was  not  inconsistent  with  the 
divine  justice — that  is,  he  shows  how  God  afflicts  the  righte- 
ous in  order  to  chastise,  purify,  and  lead  him  to  greater  glory, 
if  he  allows  tribulations  to  do  their  proper  work.  The  second 
division  is  connected  with  the  subject  of  the  second  discourse. 
God  is  great  in  nature  :  therefore-  must  He  also  be  just.  Be- 
hold God  is  gi-eat  in  power  :  and  therefore  must  He  be  of  great 
justice  and  fidl  of  righteousness :  He  dealeth  not  wrongly.  The 
people  must  consequently  fear  Him ;  He  regardeth  not  those 
who  are  wise  in  their  own  eyes,  nor  such  as  in  their  self-righ- 
teousness would  tax  him  with  wrong. 

Elihu  had  apparently  ended  the  dispute.  For  the  friends 
had  previously  retired  from  the  arena,  and  Job,  their  con- 
queror, now  by  his  silence  confessed  himself  conquered. 
Indeed,  he  had  repeatedly  mentioned  his  silence  as  a  sign 
of  his  overthrow  (chap.  vi.  24,  25  ;  xix.  4  ffi)  Elihu  also 
had  regarded  Job's  silence  as  a  token  that  he  surrendered 
himself  prisoner :  see  xxxiii.  31-33,  where  he  says,  "If  thou 
hast  nothing  to  say,  then  hear  me  and  keep  silence,  I  will 
teach  thee  wisdom."  But  what  stiU  failed  was  the  divine 
sanction.  This  alone  could  prove  to  a  certainty  that  Elihu 
had  really  stood  up  as  the  speaker  for  God.  Moreover  it  was 
not  a  mere  question  of  doctrine.  Job  was  to  be  born  again 
to  a  new  life,  and  human  efforts  alone  could  not  accomplish 
that.  God  must  directly  reveal  Himself  to  him.  A  true  and 
thorough  cure  of  error  in  religious  things,  a  real  rise  to  a  new 
stage  of  the  inr.er  life,  cannot  be  effected  save  by  a  vision  of 
God     Job  himself  confesses  this  in  chap.  xUi.  5.      "By  the 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB.  335 

hearing  of  the  ear  I  learnt  from  thee,"  (says  lie  to  God),  "  but 
now  mine  eye  saw  thee."  J(ib's  earlier  religious  point  of  view, 
notwithstanding  his  great  piety,  is  thus  characterised  as  a 
lower  one,  as  one  dependent  on  the  traditions  of  the  Fathers 
and  on  the  Church  ;  which,  now  that  he,  having  been  prepared 
by  his  sufferings  and  by  the  penitential  discourse  of  Elihu,  had 
been  counted  worthy  of  a  divine  manifestation,  gives  place  to 
a  relation  to  God  which  is  mainly  direct  and  immediate.  All 
religious  doubts  arise  from  our  merely  perceiving  by  the  hear- 
ing of  the  ear.  When  we  have  once  seen  with  the  eye,  we 
feel  ashamed  of  our  previous  incomprehensible  folly.  It  is  the 
greatest  misfortune  of  the  time  that  so  few  have  seen  with  the 
eye.  For  this  reason,  there  are  so  few  even  amongst  the  well- 
meaning,  who  walk  with  a  firm  and  sure  step.  Hence  also 
deep  abysses  of  doubt  lie  concealed  behind  a  wail  of  orthodoxy. 
In  an  age  of  apostacy  like  ours  ;  in  an  age  when  Satan  is 
again  let  loose  from  his  prison,  and  seduces  the  heathen  in  the 
four  quarters  of  the  earth,  the  mere  hearing  with  the  ear,  the 
mere  leaning  on  the  Church,  is  much  more  inadequate,  than 
during  the  days  of  the  dominion  of  the  Christian  Faith,  when 
the  temptations  were  far  less.  Now  ought  surely  every  one 
who  counts  his  own  soul  dear,  to  cry  with  Moses,  "  Lord,  let 
me  see  thy  glory,"  and  not  rest  until  his  cry  has  been  heard. 
Of  course  the  hearing  with  the  ear  is  the  first  step.  Had  Job 
haughtily  shut  his  ear  to  the  authority  of  the  Church,  his  eye 
would  not  have  seen. — But  thorough  instruction  must  ever  go 
before  God's  personal  revelation  of  Himself  Error,  not  truly 
overcome,  bars  the  entrance  like  a  bolt.  It  is  God's  method 
to  communicate  this  instruction  to  men  by  means  of  men.  To 
this  end  He  has  given  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  founded  in 
His  Church  the  office  of  teacher.  In  the  present  instance  Elihu 
discharges  the  duty.  From  these  observations  it  would  appear 
that  the  thing  of  chief  importance  is  God's  appearance,  not, 
what  He  may  say.  Still  God  cannot  appear  in  silence.  A 
discourse  must  accompany  His  appearance,  as  a  kind  of  com- 
mentary thereon.  And  inasmuch  as  Elihu  had  been  God's 
spokesman,  God's  discourse  will  naturally  neither  contradict 
that  of  Elihu  nor  contain  anything  essentially  new;  We  may 
also  anticipate  beforehand  that  the  substance  of  the  divine 
discourse  will  be  less  compreheiisive  than  that  of  Elihu's.     In 


336  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB. 

one  portion  of  his  discourses  Elihu  laid  down  a  theory  on  the 
purpose  of  life.  To  enter  upon  such  a  subject  would  scarcely 
accord  with  the  Majesty  of  God.  From  it  we  should  only 
expect  the  development  of  the  main  idea  of  the  other  principal 
part,  the  proof  that  Job's  whole  behaviour  was  rooted  in  his 
failure  to  discern  the  glory  of  God  manifested  in  all  creation 
— a  glory  with  which  righteousness  is  ever  inseparably  con- 
nected. This  subject  is  a  more  practical  one.  It  affords  con- 
stant opportunity  for  punishing  and  humbling.  Who  am  I  ? 
and,  who  art  thou  ?  These  two  questions  pervade  the  divine 
discourse,  which  indeed  consists  of  questions,  for  questions  are 
the  proper  mode  of  utterance,  for  majesty  in  wrath.  Had  Job 
in  the  first  instance  discovered  within,  the  right  answer  to  these 
two  questions  ;  had  he  seen  that  God,  as  the  Almighty,  must 
also  be  the  Righteous  One,  that  God  therefore  was  of  necessity 
in  the  right,  and  he  himself  in  the  wrong,  the  second  main 
portion  of  Elihu's  discourse  must  sink  ever  deeper  into  his 
heart.  For  God  could  only  be  in  the  right,  in  case  the  view 
given  by  Elihu  of  the  aim  of  sufferings  was  the  correct  one. 
The  issue  gave  it  a  full  and  formal  confirmation.  Further- 
more, the  only  means  of  thoroughly  setting  aside  Job's  inquiry 
was  the  element  common  to  both  the  discourse  of  God  and 
that  of  Elihu.  The  suppressed  doubts  would  have  ever  again 
asserted  their  sway  had  it  not  been  shown  hoiu  God  is  in 
the  right,  as  well  as  that  He  must  be  in  the  right  because 
He  is  God,  that  He  must  be  righteous  because  He  is  almighty. 

God  appears  in  the  storm  and  speaks  with  Job.  In  the 
symbolical  language  of  Scripture  storms  always  bear  a  threat- 
ening character.  By  speaking  out  of  the  storm  God  shows 
that  Job  has  sinned.  God's  discourse  is  an  interpretation  of 
the  storm  in  which  He  appears.  "  Wilt  thou  condemn  me  in 
order  that  thou  mayest  be  righteous  ?"  is  the  voice  of  the 
storm,  as  to  Job,  so  to  all  who  like  him  murmur  against  God 
in  sufferings. 

The  discourses  of  Elihu  are  impressed  with  the  seal  of  a 
divine  mission,  by  the  fact  that  God's  discourse  is  connected 
with  them,  not  only  by  the  sameness  of  idea,  but  even  by  the 
sameness  of  treatment.  Elihu  had  proved  God's  glory,  and 
His  consequent  righteousness,  fi-om  the  wonders  on  high,  from 
the  formation  of  the  clouds,  of  the  lio-htnino-  and  of  the  thun- 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB.  337 

dei'.  The  Divine  discourse  begins  at  the  same  point,  and  then 
descends  to  the  earth,  to  the  revehition  of  the  glory  of  God  in 
the  animated  creation,  where  the  lion  and  the  raven,  the  aris- 
tocracy and  the  proletariat  of  the  world  of  beasts,  rise  up  as 
witnesses  against  Job. 

Job  repents  in  dust  and  ashes.  His  repentance  refers,  first 
of  all,  to  his  discourses,  and  then  to  his  entire  conduct.  Had 
he  been  previously  himself  pure  in  God's  sight,  his  discourses 
would  also  have  been  pure.  •  What  now  pains  him  in  his  own 
discourses  is  the  assertion  of  his  own  perfect  righteousness.  The 
notion  that  he  might  lay  claim  to  this  had  led  him  into  error 
regarding  God,  and  had  thus  prepared  for  him  inexpressible 
suffering.  Now  his  righteousness  had  become  as  dust  and 
ashes.  Tlie  brevity  of  Job's  discourse  is  remarkable,  in  con- 
trast w4th  his  previous  prolixity.  Depth- of  feeling,  and  espe- 
cially thorough  penitence,  is  simple  in  its  utterances,  and  its 
words  are  as  a  tight  and  closely  fitting  garment. 

The  Lord  now  declares  His  anger  against  the  three  friends, 
and  advises  them  to  beg  for  the  intercession  and  mediation  of 
Job,  who,  through  his  awakening  and  repentance,  had  come 
into  a  much  closer  relation  to  God  than  formerly.  They  had 
deserved  this  humiliation.  In  their  blindness  they  had  held 
themselves  to  be  better  than  Job,  in  the  proportion  in  which 
they  were  happier.  Whoso  exalteth  himself  shall  be  abased ; 
he  who  sits  down  at  the  head  of  the  table  of  the  kingdom  of 
God  shall  hear  the  cry,  "  Give  way  to  this  man."  To  Job, 
too,  was  in  this  way  the  opportunity  given,  of  showing,  by 
his  self-denying  love,  w^hat  inward  gain  his  sufferings  had 
brought  him.  Forgiving  love  towards  those  who  had  insulted 
him  is  made  the  cemdition  of  his  restoration  :  here  therefore 
we  have  the  Old  Testament  basis  of  that  saying  of  our  Lord's 
"  If  ye  forgive  men  their  trespasses,  your  heavenly  Father  will 
also  forgive  you  your  trespasses." 

Elihu's  promise,  that  Job's  repentance  should  be  followed 
by  the  return  of  his  prospeiity,  begins  now  to  be  fulfilled. 
But  Elihu  himself  is  no  longer  mentioned.  God's  spokesman 
retires,  and  God  Himself  speaks  by  word  and  deed.  Praise 
belongs  not  to  him,  for  he  had  only  uttered  wdiat  God  had 
given  him.  He  has  no  merit ;  he  has  only  to  be  thankful  for 
the  high  grace  which  God  had  conferred  upon  him,  in  consti 
Y 


338  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB. 

tuting  him  the  medium  of  His  revelations,  and  enabling  him 
to  lead  back  his  wandering  brother  from  the  error  of  his  ways. 
"  When  ye  have  done  all,  still  say,  we  are  unprofitable  serv- 
ants." God  makes  the  fulfilment  of  his  demand  lighter  for  his 
servants,  by  treating  them  thoroughly  as  unprofitable. 

St.  James  gives  the  sum  of  this  book  in  the  words,  "  Ye 
have  heard  of  the  patience  of  Job,  and  ye  have  seen  the  end 
of  the  Lord  :  for  the  Lord  is  merciful  and  compassionate." 
Job  gave  special  proof  of  his  patience  or  stedfastness,  in  that, 
when  actually  assailed  by  Satan  on  his  weak  side,  he  still,  at 
the  right  moment,  repented  in  dust  and  ashes,  so  that  Satan 
was  forced  to  retire  ashamed,  and  lost  the  bet  which  he,  as  it 
were,  laid  with  God  at  the  commencement,  when  he  said,  "  Of 
what  avail  is  it,  he  will  bless  Thee  to  Thy  face?"  A  joyful 
issue  is  that,  when  no  one  concerned  receives  harm  save  Satan 
himself 

The  Book  of  Job  has  its  truth  not  only  for  the  individual 
believer,  but  also  for  the  entire  Church,  and  doubtless  the 
author  had  this  in  view  when  he  wrote  it.  God  chastises  His 
Church,  but  he  does  not  give  it  over  to  death  ;  when  the  way 
is  prepared  by  His  visitations  He  sends  the  spirit  of  penitence 
and  awakenment,  and  then  He  Himself  returns  in  grace  and 
condescension  to  its  prison.  This  happened,  for  example, 
when  Judah  was  first  carried  into  exile  to  Babylon,  and  then 
led  back  home  in  joy.  This  will  be  most  gloriously  exempli- 
fied when  the  triumphant,  shall  take  the  place  of  the  militant, 
Church.  The  temporal  restoration  of  the  Book  of  Job  is  the 
type,  prelude,  and  pledge  of  the  eternal  To  bring  to  light 
God's  rule  in  this  world  was  the  primary  mission  of  the  Old 
Testament.  This  foundation  being  laid,  it  will  be  but  a  light 
matter  to  illumine  the  darkness  with  which  the  natural  mind 
has  covered  the  future. 

The  history  of  Job  is  a  type  of  the  Saviour  as  well  in  His 
sufferings  as  in  the  glory  which  followed.  What  is  specially 
worthy  of  our  attention  is  the  burning  desire  felt  by  Satan 
for  the  ruin  of  the  "  much  persecuted,"  against  whom  he  stirs 
up  enemies  from  all  sides.  If  Job's  imperfect  and  needy  right- 
eousness was  an  object  of  such  hatred  to  Satan,  how  must  he 
be  enraged  against  Him  who  is  the  absolutely  righteous  one. 
Immediately  after  entering  on  His  vocation  the  Redeemer  was 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB.  339 

tempted  forty  days  by  the  devil,  and  when  the  devil  had  ended 
all  his  temptations,  he  departed  from  Him  for  a  "season." 
Satan  is  always  in  the  backgTOund  of  Christ's  sufferings. 
When  the  time  drew  nigh  that  he  should  be  delivered  into 
the  hands  of  sinners.  He  exclaimed,  "  the  Prince  of  this  world 
Cometh."  But  as  Satan  was  put  to  shame  by  the  typical  Job, 
so  did  his  attack  on  the  antitype  end  in  his  utter  overthrow, 
"  and  he  overcame  not.  His  place  also  was  no  more  found  in 
heaven.  And  he  was  cast  down,  the  great  dragon,  the  old 
serpent,  who  is  called  the  devil,  and  Satan,  who  seduces  the 
whole  world  ;  he  was  cast  down  upon  the  earth,  and  his  angels 
were  cast  down  with  him." 


THE   PROPHET    ISAIAH. 

A  LECTCRE 

BY 

PROFESSOR  DR,  HENGSTENBERG. 


THE  PROPHET  ISAIAH. 


The  year  1848  led  many  persons  back  to  the  Old  Testament, 
and  especially  to  the  writings  of  the  Prophets,  who,  in  conse- 
quence of  participating  in  the  so-called  "  modern  culture,"  had, 
up  to  that  time,  kept  themselves  at  a  distance,  or  even  been 
quite  estranged  from  them.  For  the  circumstances  and  events 
of  that  year  the  New  Testament  was  not  found  strictly  suffi- 
cient. The  great  questions  then  agitated  had  a  national  cha- 
racter; they  bore  upon  the  history  of  the  world.  "  What  is 
the  destiny  of  our  apostate  nation?  Wliat  will  result  from 
the  spirit  of  sedition  by  which  Europe  has  been  seized?"  The 
New  Testament  has  mainly  to  do  with  the  individual  soul  and 
its  salvation,  and  then  with  the  development  of  the  Church. 
The  political  element  in  it  is  but  slight.  In  this  respect,  as 
in  so  many  others,  we  discover  that  it  is  a  half,  needing  its 
complement ;  and  we  are  reminded  of  the  saying  of  our  Lord, 
"  What  God  hath  joined  together  let  not  man  put  asunder." 
Tlie  Old  Testament,  in  wiiting  the  history  of  one  nation,  has 
written  the  history  of  all  nations  to  whom  the  Lord  has  re- 
vealed Himself:  in  the  fates  of  the  one  people,  whose  charac- 
ter was  throughout  typical  (1  Corinthians  x.  6),  there  is  a 
prophecy  of  the  fates  of  all  peoples.  Whoso  enters  into  the 
spirit  of  the  Old  Testament  will  gain  possession  of  infallible 
knowledge  concerning  the  future ;  will  learn  the  laws  by  which 
the  nations  of  the  world  in  general,  and  his  own  nation  in 
particular,  are  governed  ;  will  in  this  respect  be  raised  from 
the  ignoble  rank  of  the  servant,  who  knoweth  not  what  his 
Lord  doeth,  to  that  of  the  Son,  whom  the  Father  makes  a 
sharer  of  His  secrets,  and  to  whom  He  shows  all  that  He 
Himself  doeth,  keeping  back  from  him  only  the  day  and  the 


344  THE  PROPHET  ISAIAH. 

hour,  the  knowledge  of  which  is  the  peculiar  prerogative  of 
God. 

Let  us  now  enter  more  directly  on  the  subject  in  hand. 
Our  business,  in  the  first  instance,  is  not  with  Prophets,  and 
their  oiSce,  in  general,  but  only  with  Isaiah.  ^  At  the  same 
time,  be  it  remembered,  the  trne  nature  of  Old  Testament 
prophecy  is  best  learnt  by  a  consideration  of  the  activity  of 
the  prominent  individual  prophets.  One  general  observation, 
however,  must  be  premised. 

The  prophetic  element  of  the  Old  Testament  presents  a  two- 
fold aspect.  The  first  aspect  under  which  it  appears  is  that 
of  a  free  vocation,  as  opposed  to  a  fixed  one,  like  the  Priest- 
hood ;  of  an  extraordinary,  as  contrasted  with  a  regular,  ofiice. 
Such  a  co-ordination  of  offices  is  necessary  in  all  ages  of  the 
Church.  That  which  is  fixed  and  regular  too  easily  hardens 
into  formality,  if  it  has  not  at  its  side  that  which  is  more  free  : 
the  latter  is  necessary  to  goad  on,  stir  up,  and  excite  the  zeal 
of  the  former,  which  is  ever  ready  to  grow  flat,  or  die  out. 
The  too  great  uniformity  of  the  offices  in  the  earlier  period  of 
the  existence  of  the  Evangelical  Church  was  no  slight  evil 
In  this  respect  it  was  at  a  disadvantage  in  relation  to  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  which  possessed,  in  its  numerous 
Orders,  an  element  analogous  to  the  prophetical  one. of  the  Old 
Testament.  In  the  present  century  efforts  have  happily  begun 
to  be  made  for  the  supply  of  this  deficiency,  in  the  institution 
of  the  various  Christian  associations,  especially  of  Home  Mis- 
sions. At  the  same  time,  however,  it  must  be  remarked,  that 
the  "activity  put  forth  has  hitherto  been  mainly  of  a  Martha- 
kind;  whereas  prophecy  was  more  of  the  Mary-kind  ;  that  is, 
it  was  more  a  channel  by  which  life  streamed  forth  directly 
from  God  to  the  people  ;  it  confined  itself  almost  exclusively 
to  the  sphere  of  the  preacher.  Still,  for  Old  Testament  times, 
the  free  vocation  followed  by  the  prophets  was  of  far  gi-eater 
importance  than  for  the  Church  of  the  New  Covenant.  Then 
the  regular  office  of  the  priesthood  was  connected  with  birth, 
and  was  therefore  much  more  exposed  to  the  danger  of  harden- 
ing into  formality.  Moreover,  the  spirit  of  the  law  was  en- 
veloped in  a  garb  of  ceremonial  precepts,  and  the  priests,  who, 
from  youth  up,  had  to  do  with  external  forms  and  observances, 
were  in  gi'eat  danger  of  regarding  them  as  having  independent 


THE  PROPHET  ISAIAH.  345 

worth,  and  of  thus  forgetting  the  ideas  and  truths  wliich  were 
the  soul  of  the  pregnant  allegory.  Yielding  to  this  tendency, 
they  would  contradict  Moses,  by  whom  the  law  was  given, 
and  who  summed  up  its  precepts  in  the  one  command,  which 
it  is  impossible  to  take  upon  our  lips  without  fear  and  tremb- 
ling, "  to  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  with  all 
thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  powers,"  thus  allowing  to  the  exter- 
nal no  other  significance  than  that  of  a  means  to  an  end. 
Against  such  servants  of  the  letter,  the  prophets,  as  the  ser- 
vants of  the  spirit,  were  compelled  to  stand  up.  So  did  Isaiah, 
for  example,  when,  in  chapter  i.  of  his  Prophecies,  he  raises 
his  voice  against  those  who,  instead  of  offering  to  the  high  and 
holy  God  that  sacrifice  of  the  heart  claimed  by  Him  under  the 
form  of  the  sacrifice  of  beasts,  brought  as  a  substitute  mere 
bumt-oflferings  of  rams,  and  the  blood  of  bullocks,  of  lambs 
and  of  goats. 

Most  of  those  who  bore  the  name  of  Prophet  were  limited 
to  this  aspect  of  the  prophetic  office.  Strictly  speaking,  how- 
ever, the  name  refers  to  the  other  and  higher  side  of  the  pro- 
phetical vocation  ;  and  it  pertained  to  the  great  mass  of  those 
who  were  usually  styled  prophets,  only  because  they  were  com- 
prehended, as  under  their  head,  among  the  few  chosen  ones 
who  truly  represented  the  higher  aspect : — of  them  and  their 
position  the  expression,  "  Sons  of  the  Prophets,"  was  more 
accurately  designative.  The  Hebrew  word  for  prophet,  Nahi, 
designates  one  who  has  Divine  communications,  who  is  privi- 
leged with,  inspiration, — inspiration,  too,  as  we  are  expressly 
taught  by  the  other  name  of  the  prophet,  "  Seer  or  Beholder," 
in  the  strictest  sense,  such,  namely,  as  is  imparted  in  the  state 
of  transport  or  ecstasy.  This  high  gift  was  naturally  only 
conferred  on  the  few.  Divine  revelations  did  not  terminate 
with  Moses,  for  the  Holy  Scriptures  could  not  arise  otherwise 
than  in  the  course  of  centuries.  They  could  not  be  given  in 
the  form  of  a  catechism,  or  of  a  doctrinal  system.  Divine 
truths  must  enter  into  life  in  the  most  living  manner,  con- 
nected with,  and  in  relation  to,  the  greatest  possible  variety  of 
historical  developments.  Moreover,  it  was  necessaiy,  at  all 
events  in  part,  that  living  organs  of  direct  Divine  communi- 
cations should  be  given  to  compensate  the  disadvantage  at 
which  the  Church  of  earlier  times  was  placed  in  relation  to 


S46  THE  PROPHET  ISAIAH. 

that  of  later  times,  as  regards  Holy  Scripture.  Wlien  human 
relations,  in  their  greatest  variety,  had  been  illumined  by  the 
light  of  the  word  of  God,  when  Holy  Scripture  had  reached 
its  conclusion,  then  prophecy  ceased.  Malachi  is  the  last  of 
the  prophets  under  the  Old  Covenant.  Prophecy  was  once 
again  awakened  under  the  New  Covenant,  but  it  came  very 
speedily  to  a  close  with  John.  What  the  twelve  apostles  are, 
whose  usual  consciousness  was  so  elevated  that  their  inspira- 
tion did  not  in  general  need  to  take  the  form  of  ecstasy,  such 
are  also  the  prophets  for  ever.  Tliey  live  on  in  their  writings. 
Tlie  position  which  was  occupied  by  the  prophets  under  the 
Old  Covenant,  those  who  are  learned  in  the  Scriptures,  the 
Scribes,  have  been  deputed  by  our  Lord  to  occupy  in  His 
kingdom.  Under  the  New  Covenant  they  are  the  spiritual 
householders,  who  bring  forth  from  their  treasure  things  new 
and  old  (Matthew  xiii.  52).  Wlioso  will  not  hear  Moses  and 
the  prophets,  v/hoso  will  not  hear  the  Holy  Scriptures,  him, 
according  to  the  inftillible  declaration  of  our  Lord,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  help.  Imitations  only  corrupt  the  blessing  instituted 
by  God. 

The  body  of  Prophets  derived  its  life  and  significance  fi'om 
the  high  truths  which,  through  Moses,  had  taken  up  their 
abode  and  citizenship  in  the  Church  of  God.  Even  at  the 
time  of  Moses  we  may  find  traces  of  the  beginnings  of  this 
body.  In  the  age  of  the  Judges  it  exerted  a  not  unimportant 
influence.  In  Samuel  it  was  first  represented  by  an  imposing 
personality.  But  it  was  only  a  considerable  period  later  that 
the  tree  of  prophecy  bore  fruits  fitted  to  be  stored  up  in  the 
treasure-house  of  Holy  Scripture.  Our  canonical  prophecies 
first  began  in  the  eighth  century  before  Christ,  that  is,  about 
seven  centuries  after  Moses  and  two  after  David.  That  there 
must  have  been  at  this  time  mighty  impulses  towards  pro- 
phecy is  plain  enough  from  the  fact  that  then,  all  at  once, 
there  arose  quite  a  number  of  important  prophets  ;  whereas, 
previously,  in  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  the  prophetic  element 
had  manifested  itself  only  sporadically.  From  this  time  on- 
wards Israel  became  more  and  more  interwoven  with  the 
Asiatic  monarchies  ;  first  of  all  with  the  Assyrian.  The  way 
was  being  prepared  for  the  great  judgments  which  the  Lord 
purposed  to  execute  on  his  people  by  means  of  these  empires  ; 


THE  PROPHET  ISAIAH.  347 

consequently  the  task  of  the  Prophets  became  a  much  granrlcr 
one.  They  had  to  direct  attention  to  the  judgments  of  the 
Lord,  to  explain  them,  to  awaken  the  minds  of  the  people  to 
a  consciousness  of  God's  punitive  righteousness  and  sustaming 
grace.  A  much  wider  sphere  was  then  opened  up  for  prophecy, 
in  its  narrower  sense,  as  the  foretelling  of  events.  Especially 
did  the  proclamations  of  the  Messiah  now  become  fuller  and 
more  distinct.  In  opposition  to  the  worldly  power,  which 
threatened  the  kingdom  of  God  with  overthrow,  is  set  that 
kingdom  which  was  destined,  through  Christ,  to  conquer  and 
to  rule  over  the  world.  This  is  presented  as  a  source  of  con- 
solation to  minds  troubled  and  cast  down  by  present  circum- 
stances. In  the  light  thereof  the  faithful  of  the  Old  Testament 
wandered  forth  into  darkness.  The  preaching  of  repentance 
also  gained  stronger  motives  and  a  higher  tone.  Nothing  is 
TYiore  startling  than  the  feeling  ivhich  possesses  our  ovrn, 
generation  also,  that  %ve  stand  at  the  beginning  of  the  end. 
First,  at  the  period  of  Jewish  history  alluded  to,  when  the 
prophetic  vocation  was  in  circumstances  to  develope  its  fidl 
power,  did  it  become  important  for  all  ages;  and  the  divinely 
originated  conviction  that  such  was  the  case,  impelled  the 
prophets  to  record  their  prophecies,  not  in  the  form  of  loose 
and  scattered  leaves,  but  in  that  of  books  which  should  bo 
parts  of  a  codex  of  sacred  writings.*  The  same  feeling  also 
induced  others  to  have  a  care  for  their  permanent  preservation. 
The  chief  prophetical  figure  during  this  first  period  of 
canonical  prophecies,  that  is,  during  the  Assyrian  period,  is 
Isaiah  ;  as  during  the  second,  that  is,  the  Babylonian  perio<:t, 
Jeremiah  was  the  chief  figure.  With  Isaiah  were  connected, 
in  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  Micah,  Joel,  and  Obadiah  ;  in  tho 
kingdom  of  Israel,  Hosea,  Amos,  and  Jonah,  who  were  its 
only  three  prophets.  The  overthrow  of  the  kingdom  of  tho 
ten  tribes  was  effected  by  the  Assyrian  power,  because  tho 
measure  of  its  sins  was  already  full.  Out  of  the  same  con- 
flict Judah  issued  victorious,  and  first,  more  than  a  century 


•  This  is  indicated  with  special  distinctness  in  Isaiah  xxxiv.  16,  -nhcro,  to 
those  who  read  the  prophecy  after  it  had  been  fulfilled,  I.-^aiah  says,  "  Search  ia 
the  book  of  the  Lord  and  read."  What  the  prophet  means  is,  that  they  ousht 
to  compare  the  prophecy,  recorded  in  the  book  of  the  Lord,  with  history,  in 
order  to  convince  themselves  that  it  had  been  exactly  fulfilled. 


.34;  8        .  THE  PROPHET  ISAIAH, 

later,  succumbed  to  the  might  of  the  Chaldeans.  Unlike 
Israel,  its  downfal  was  not  a  permanent  one.  The  kingdom 
of  Judah  underwent  a  joyous  resurrection.  Indeed  its  re- 
covery in  this  case  was  unavoidable  and  necessary,  for  it  had 
not  yet  fulfilled  its  destiny  of  producing  the  Messiah  from  its 
midst.  King  XJzziah,  in  the  last  years  of  whose  reign  Isaiah 
began  his  work,  ruled  till  759  years  before  Christ.  Isaiah, 
consequently,  entered  on  his  vocation  about  ten  years  before 
the  founding  of  Rome,  or  in  the  year  753  before  Christ. 

It  is  a  remarkable  instance  of  the  play  of  that  divine  pro- 
vidence, which  directs  in  such  a  special  manner  the  affairs  of 
the  Church,  that  there  occur  in  sacred  history  so  many  names 
pregnant  with  meaning.  Isaiah,  for  example,  signifies  "  the  sal- 
vation of  the  Lord."*  This  is  also,  to  such  an  extent,  the  watch- 
word of  his  prophecies,  that  their  substance  could  not  have  been 
with  one  word  more  strikingly  described.  So  also  the  name 
Jeremiah,  signifying,  "  the  Lord  casts  down,"  precisely  describes 
the  n.iture  of  his  prophecies,  in  which  threatening  decidedly 
predominates.  In  Isaiah,  of  course,  there  are  not  wanting 
severe  punishments  and  threats :  he  belonged  not  to  those 
who  strengthen  the  hands  of  sinners,  who,  slightly  healing 
the  hurt  of  the  people  (Jeremian  vi.  1 4),  cry,  "  Peace,  peace, 
when  there  is  no  peace ;"  who  make  cushions  for  under  the 
arms  of  the  people  and  pillows  for  their  heads.  In  Israel  that 
was  the  business  only  of  the  false  prophets,  whose  distinctive 
characteristic  it  was  to  preach  Gospel  without  law,  a  thing 
worse  even  than  law  without  Gospel.  He  had  a  hard  battle 
to  fight  with  those  who  said  to  the  seers,  "  See  not  for  us 
right  thkigs  ;  preach  unto  us  smooth  things ;  see  for  us 
deceits."  But  in  Isaiah  threats  never  form  the  termination ; 
they  invariably  pass  into  promises  ;  and  whereas,  in  the  great 
mass  of  Jeremiah's  prophecies,  promises,  which  no  true  pro- 
phet can  entirely  lack,  are  usually  brief,  and  in  the  form  of 
hints,  consisting  frequently  only  of  words  thrown  out  into 
the  midst  of  the  severest  threats,  as,  for  example,  in  chap.  iv. 
27,   "  Yet  wiU  I  not  make  a  full   end,"  in   Isaiali  streams   of 

*  Dr  Hengstenberg  brings  an  illustration  of  tbis  supposed  divine  sport  from 
modern  times — the  case  of  Wegscheider,  the  celebrated  vulgar-rationalistic 
theologian.  The  name  means  literally  "way-divider,"  and  Dr  H.  asks,  •'  What 
more  suitable  name  for  such  a  defonnator  could  have  been  invented  ?  " — Tk. 


THE  PROPHET  ISAIAH.  349 

the  richest  fukiess  pour  forth  from  the  soui-ce  of  consolation  ; 
and  as  if  he  had  not,  in  this  respect,  done  enougli  in  the  first 
part  of  his  work,  he  adds  a  second  part,  from  cliap.  xl.-lxvi., 
in  which  promises  still  more  decidedly  predominate.  The 
reason  of  this  peculiarity  must  be  specially  sought  in  the  his- 
torical circumstances.  Isaiah  belonged  to  a  time  when  the 
corruption  of  the  kingdom  of  Judah  had  by  far  not  reached 
its  lowest  point,  when  there  was  still  a  considerable  number 
of  men  who  associated  themselves  with,  and  looked  up  to 
him  as  their  spiritual  centre.  Looking  at  these  societies  of 
brethren  of  like  spirit,  Isaiah  cries :  "  Comfort  ye,  comfoH  ye, 
my  people."  The  contemporary  prophets  of  the  kingdom  of 
the  ten  tribes,  which  had  been  poisoned  at  its  very  origin, 
found  a  different  state  of  things  :  the  field  there  was  already 
ripe  to  the  harvest  of  judgment.  In  the  days  of  Jeremiah 
Judah  had  already  become  like  its  apostate  sister.  "  Run  ye 
to  and  fro  through  the  lanes  of  Jerusalem,  and  see  now  and 
know,  and  seek  in  its  streets  if  ye  can  find  a  man,  if  there 
be  one  that  doeth  justice,  that  seeketh  faithfulness,  and  I  Avill 
pardon  it,"  says  the  Lord,  in  Jeremiah  v.  1.  Then  the  duty 
of  a  prophet  was  less  to  console  the  miserable,  than  to  terrify 
the  secure,  sinners.  Only  after  the  anger  of  God  had  mani- 
fested itself  in  deeds,  only  after  the  judgment  of  destruction 
had  gone  over  Jerusalem,  or  was  drawing  very  nigh,  did  the 
stream  of  promise  burst  unrestrainedly  forth  in  Jeremiah,  as 
<also  in  Ezekiel. 

The  mission  of  Isaiah  had  special  reference  to  the  house  of 
Judah.  He  but  seldom  occupies  himself  with  the  kingdom  of 
Israel ;  and  when  this  happens,  as  in  chap.  ix.  7,  ff,  xvii.  l,ff, 
it  is  always  with  a  reference  to,  and  for  the  sake  of  exerting 
an  influence  on,  Judah.  Tlie  scene  of  his  activity  was  Jeru- 
salem, the  political  and  religious  centre  of  the  nation.  Tliere, 
all  his  discourses  were  delivered.  The  citizens  thereof  are  not 
unfrequently  specially  addressed  by  him.  A  prophet  of  such 
thorough  importance  could  only  come  forth  at  the  centre  of 
the  nation's  life  and  activity.  Such  a  centre  was  Jerusalem, 
in  a  much  higher  degree,  than  are  the  chief  cities  of  modern 
kingdoms  ;  for  its  temple  was  the  only  place  of  sacrifice  for 
the  whole  people, — it  was  the  spiritual  dwelling-place  of  the 
Jews,  in  which  they  were  obliged  at  certain  seasons  to  present 


350  THE  PROPHET  ISAIAH. 

themselves,  even  outwardly,  before  the  Lord.  But,  in  fact,  the 
proj^hetic  element  in  the  kingdom  of  Judah  seems  to  have  been 
almost  exclusively  associated  with  Jerusalem.  Tlie  reason 
thereof  was,  that  the  mission  of  the  Prophets  of  Judah  was 
mainly  a  national  one.  In  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  on  the  con- 
trary, where  they  had  to  fill  up  the  gap  caused  by  the  expul- 
sion of  the  legitimate  priesthood,  and  where,  consequently,  it 
devolved  upon  them,  regularly  to  instruct  and  to  edify  the 
people,  their  activity  was  not  confined  to  the  metropolis,  but 
was  difiused  throughout  the  entire  land. 

According  to  chap.  vii.  and  viii.,  Isaiah  was  married,  and 
mention  is  made  of  his  two  sons,  Shearjashub  and  Mahershalal- 
hashbaz.  The  connecting  of  the  names  of  both  with  his  pro- 
phecies, shows  how  much  he  lived  and  moved  in  his  vocation. 
Even  his  children  he  had  not  for  himself :  the  Lord  had  given 
them  for  signs  and  for  wonders  in  Israel,  (chap.  viii.  18:) 
they  also  were  a  sermon  to  the  people,  as  we  see  especially 
from  chap,  vii.,  where  the  prophet  is  said  to  take  with  him 
the  one  of  his  sons,  Shearjashub,  solely  in  order  that,  looking 
on  him,  the  people  may  be  brought  to  see  the  folly  of  its  fears. 
In  the  two  names  were  expressed  the  two  main  elements  of 
his  prophetical  discourses.  The  one,  signifying — "  Robbery 
hastens,  quickly  comes  spoil,"  points  to  the  energy  of  the  divine 
justice,  which  visits  the  sins  both  of  the  heathen  world,  and  of 
the  covenant  people  :  the  other,  Shearjashub,  signifying,  "the 
rest  will  return,"  draws  attention  to  the  grace  which  the  Lord 
will  show  in  sustaining  His  people  and  kingdom,  even  in  the 
midst  of  destruction, — it  drew  notice  to  the  fact,  that  judg- 
ments on  the  people  of  God,  unlike  those  on  the  godless  world, 
always  bear  at  last  the  peaceable  fruits  of  righteousness,  if  not 
to  large  multitudes,  yet  at  all  events,  to  a  small  number  ;  and 
also  to  the  fact,  that  these  few  will  be  restored,  after  the  exe- 
cution of  the  judgments,  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  divine 
favour.  Zion  can  never  be  lost,  whatever  else  is  lost.  The 
Lord  may  indeed  chastise  it,  but  he  will  not  give  it  over  to 
death.  Isaiah's  being  able  to  call  his  wife  Nebijah,  "  Prophe- 
•tess,"  shows  that  his  marriage  did  not  stand  in  opposition  to, 
or  merely  go  alongside  of,  his  vocation,  but  that  it  was  most 
closely  connected  therewith.  This  name,  Nebijah  could  not 
bear  merely  as  the  wife  of  a  prophet, — for,  as  in  our  days  the 


THE  PROPHET  ISAIAH.  351 

•worst  foes  of  the  office  of  preacher,  are  often  the  very  wives 
of  the  preachers  themselves,  so  was  it  tlien.  She  could  only 
bear  it,  so  far  as  she  herself  was  endowed  with  a  prophetic 
gilt,  like  Miriam  the  sister  of  Moses,  or  Deborah  in  the  times 
of  the  Judges,  or  Hulda  in  the  days  of  Jeremiah.  The  mere 
name,  therefore,  introduces  us  to  the  very  inmost  nature  of 
the  marriage  relation.  Tlie  wife  did  not  certainly  appear  in 
public.  She  mainly  fulfilled  her  prophetical  vocation  by  aid- 
ing and  encouraging  her  husband  in  his.  Even  the  garb  of 
the  prophet  was  chosen  in  adaptation  to  his  office.  According 
to  chap.  XX.  2,  he  was  clad  in  a  garment  of  hair,  like  Elijah, 
John  the  Baptist,  and  the  two  witnesses  in  the  Revelations, 
(chap.  xi.  3.)  The  garment  of  sackcloth  formed  a  contrast  to 
sumptuous  clothing,  to  expose  the  condemnableness  of  which 
Isaiah  had  a  peculiar  mission.  The  locus  classicus  of  sacred 
Scripture  against  fondness  for  dress  and  ornament,  is  chap,  iii., 
where  the  prophet  enters  into  such  minute  detail,  that  we  may 
well  assume  that  the  prophetess  rendered  him  the  aid  for 
which  her  sex  peculiarly  fitted  her.  Sackcloth  was  the  gar- 
ment of  mourners  and  penitents.  Sorrow  at  the  lamentable 
state  of  the  Holy  City,  anguish  at  the  desolation  of  the  Church, 
earnestness  in  repentance  and  in  summoning  others  to  repent- 
ance— these  are  still  the  characteristic  marks  of  the  true  ser- 
vants of  the  Lord.  In  that  which  he  does  himself,  the  prophet 
shows  the  people  what  they  ought  to  do.  His  very  appear- 
ance preached,  "  Repent  ye,"  even  before  he  opened  his  mouth. 
We  remarked  already  that  the  prophet  entered  on  his  calling 
in  the  last  years  of  Uzziah's  reign.  Under  the  long  govern- 
ment of  this  monarch,  the  kingdom  of  Judah  rose  to  great 
wealth  and  power.  His  name,  signifying,  "  the  Lord  is  my 
strength,"  found  full  confirmation.  The  spirit  of  piety  mani- 
fested by  him  afforded  opportunity  for  the  verification  of  the 
name.  He  restored  the  southern  and  south-western  bound- 
aries to  something  like  the  position  they  occupied  in  the  days 
of  David  and  Solomon.  But  the  people  was  incapable  of 
bearing  its  prosperity.  Those  prophetic  words  of  Moses, 
(Deuteronomy  xxxii.  15,)  "Then  waxed  Israel  fiit,  and  kicked, 
forsook  God  his  Creator,  and  lightly  esteemed  the  rock  of  his 
salvation,"  received  their  fulfilment.  Externally,  the  condition 
of  religion  seemed  still  tolerably  good ;  coarse  idolatry  was 


352  THE  PROPHET  ISAIAH. 

still  comparatively  rare;  they  were  very  zealous  in  offering 
sacrifices  to  the  Lord,  in  visiting  the  temple,  in  the  celebration 
of  the  feasts,  and  even  in  the  prayers  of  the  lip,  (chapter  i. 
11-15  ;)  but,  notwithstanding,  great  and  deep  evils  existed. 
This  we  learn  especially  from  the  first  five  chapters  of  Isaiah, 
in  which  he  does  battle  most  zealously  and  distinctly  with  the 
carnal  security  of  the  nation,  with  its  proud  confidence  in  its 
power,  and  with  the  external  piety  which  only  concealed  in- 
tense haughtiness  and  corruption  of  heart,  and  a  fearful  decay 
of  virtue  and  manners.  Pride,  the  bosom-sin  of  the  people, 
against  which  the  prophet -gives  a  so  energetic  testimony  in 
chap.  ii.  and  iii.,  at  last  seized  hold  of  the  king  also.  In  his 
old  age,  when  his  adviser,  Zechariah,  "  who  had  understanding 
in  the  visions  of  God,"  had  died,  the  thought,  occurred  to  Uzziah 
of  uniting  the  highest  spiritual  with  the  highest  civil  dignity ; 
contrary  to  the  law  of  God.  He  offered  incense  in  the  Temple. 
He  was  visited  with  leprosy,  a  disease,  which,  as  the  symbol 
of  sin,  was  a  peculiarly  suitable  punishment,  in  cases  when  it 
was  necessary  to  make  publicly  manifest  sin  which  concealed 
itself  under  the  appearance  of  good  ;  as  Uzziah  had  concealed 
his  presumption  beneath  the  garb  of  a  peculiarly  great  piety. 
The  leprous  king,  who,  as  an  unclean  man,  could  not  continue 
to  hold  the  reins  of  government,  was  a  true  type  of  the  people 
of  his  age. 

It  was  a  matter  of  importance  that,  in  the  reign  of  Uzziah, 
when  the  nation  was  in  the  full  tide  of  its  pi'osperity,  the 
prophet,  like  a  faithful  watchman,  (to  which  the  prophets  fre- 
quently compare  themselves,)  proclaimed  loudly  the  imminence 
of  the  catastrophe  threatened  by  Moses.  In  like  manner  did 
Hosea  make  the  same  proclamation  to  the  kingdom  of  Israel 
during  its  palmiest  days. 

Asserting,  as  he  did,  that  a  terrible  storm  was  threatening, 
whilst  the  heavens  were  to  all  appearance  bright  and  cloudless, 
the  prophet  made  himself  ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of  very  many. 
From  all  sides  he  heard  the  satirical  cry,  "  Let  make  speed  and 
come  the  purpose  of  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  that  we  may  see 
it."  But  he  did  not  allow  himself  to  be  misled  thereby.  Ho 
was  thoroughly  persuaded  of  the  truth  and  applicability  of  the 
words,  "  where  the  carcase  is,  there  will  also  the  eagles  be 
gathered  together."     He  looked  on  the  mural  condition  of  the 


THE  PROPHET  ISAIAH.  853 

people  with  the  eye  of  God  :  he  saw  that  its  sin  was  becom- 
ing riper  every  day  :  he  recognised  in  God  that  the  time  was 
not  lar  distant  when  the  measure  should  be  full. 

The  death  of  King  Uzziali  was  the  occasion  of  the  prophet's 
looking  back  earnestly  on  the  past,  and  of  his  anxiously  en- 
quiring of  the  Lord  in  respect  of  the  future.  "  Dost  thou  then 
thank  the  Lord  thy  God,  thou  mad  and  foolish  nation?" 
Hast  thou  experienced  so  much  grace, — during  fifty-two  years 
the  Lord  had  been  the  strength  of  His  people, — and  yet  do  all 
signs  betoken,  not  repentance,  but  rather,  increasing  apostacy? 
Will  He  once  again  thoroughly  renew  His  people  ?  Or  are 
His  judgments  about  to  break  ?  And,  in  the  latter  case,  may 
we  expect  grace,  at  all  events,  after  justice  has  done  its  work  ? 

The  answer  to  these  uneasy  questions  is  given  to  the  pro- 
phet in  chap.  vi.  by  means  of  a  vision.  Many  have  falsely 
supposed  that  the  first  calling  of  Isaiah  to  the  office  of  prophet 
is  there  described.  He  sees  the  Lord  in  all  the  fulness  of 
His  glory, — in  the  full  energy  of  that  righteousness,  which 
casts  down  all  sanguine  hopes  to  the  ground,  and  in  the  full 
energy  of  that  grace  and  faithfulness  which  prevents  all  des- 
pauing  thoughts.  Then  the  interpretation  is  given  to  him  by 
the  words  which  he  is  appointed  to  proclaim  amongst  the 
people.  The  judgment  advances  with  inexorable  strictness. 
But  from  the  ruin  of  the  whole  nation,  a  holy  seed  is  preserved. 

One  might  fancy,  after  such  a  sharp  and  distinct  proclama- 
tion, that  the  judgment  would  at  once  begin  to  be  executed. 
God,  however,  as  Bengel  says,  has  His  horas  and  moras :  He 
never  hurries  anything  on  :  He  only  puts  sickle  to  the  harvest 
when  it  has  become  completely  white.  The  sixteen  years  of 
Jotham's  government  passed  quite  smoothly  by.  We  may 
well  suppose  that  God  regarded  the  piety  of  the  king,  con- 
cerning whom  it  is  said,  "  and  he  did  that  which  was  right  in 
the  sight  of  the  Lord,  according  to  all  that  his  father  Uzziah 
did  :  howbeit  he  entered  not  into  the  temple  of  the  Lord  (the 
sin  by  which  Uzziali  fell),  but  the  people  still  corrupted 
themselves." 

A  beginning  was  made  of  the  fulfilment  of  the  threats  of 
punishment,  when  impiety  ascended  the  throne  in  the  person 
of  Ahaz.  In  the  very  first  year  of  his  reign  the  Kings  of  Da- 
mascus and  Samaria,  having  formed  a  league,  broke  into  the 

Z 


354  THE  PKOPHET  ISAIAH. 

land,  with  the  design  of  putting  an  end  to  the  kingdom. 
This  was  one  of  the  most  important  crises  in  the  history  of 
Israel.  Assyria  came  into  the  country  in  consequence  of  this 
war.  In  the  footsteps  of  that  empire  came  afterwards  the 
succeeding  great  powers  of  Europe  and  Asia.  Hitherto  Israel 
had  only  had  to  deal  with  the  smaller  surrounding  nations. 
But  from  this  time  onwards  it  was  involved  in  struggles  with 
the  great  kingdoms  of  the  world.  A  remarkable  proof  that 
the  spirit  which  filled  the  prophets  was  a  higher  than  their 
own,  is  the  fact  that  Isaiah,  according  to  the  important  pro- 
phecy recorded  in  chap,  vii.,  recognized  so  clearly  and  distinctly 
the  significance  of  the  decisive  point.  That  he  should  have 
earnestly  warned  the  king  against  seeking  the  help  of  Assyria 
is  not  to  be  accounted  for  by  grounds  of  ordinary  worldly 
policy.  Politically  it  could  make  but  a  slight  difference 
whether  Ahaz  sought  the  help  of  the  Assyrians  or  not.  On 
the  contrary,  if  he  did  so,  the  King  of  Assyria  must  of  course 
be  more  favourably  disposed  towards  him.  We  can  scarcely 
doubt  that  the  Assyrians  would  have  pressed  forwards  towards 
Western  Asia  even  if  Ahaz  had  not  summoned  them  to  his 
aid.  If  they  once  came  into  those  regions,  to  chastise  the 
pride  of  the  Syrians  and  Ephramites,  who  were  endeavouring 
to  make  conquests  and  become  powerful,  Judah  also  would  be 
in  danger  from  them.  Isaiah  rather  throughout  takes  up  the 
position  of  the  man  of  God.  To  enter  into  leag-ues  with  other 
monarchs  was  not  totally  forbidden  to  the  kings  of  the  people 
of  God.  But  such  leagiies  must  belong  to  the  category  of 
human  aids  sanctioned  by  God.  This,  however,  was  not  now 
the  case.  Assyria  was  a  thoroughly  selfish  power,  whose  aim 
was  to  make  conquests.  Its  assistance  must  be  bought  with 
vassalage,  and  with  the  danger  of  utter  downfall  :  "to  stay 
themselves  on  it,  was  to  stay  themselves  on  their  destroyer," 
(Isaiah  x.  20.)  Such  a  league  involved  practical  denial  of  the 
God  of  Israel,  a  contempt  of  His  omnipotence  and  grace.  On 
behalf  of  God,  therefore,  the  Prophet  had  no  alternative  but 
to  oppose  it.  Had  Ahaz  obeyed  him,  had  he  limited  himself 
to  using  the  human  means  lent  him  by  God,  not  putting  his 
trust  in  them  but  in  the  Lord,  his  Lord  would  have  delivered 
him,  as  at  a  later  period  He  delivered  Hezekiah,  first  from 
Aram  and  Ephraim,  and  then  from  Assyria.      We  need  not 


THE  PROPHET  ISAIAH,  355 

however,  regard  the  mission  of  the  prophet  as  a  fruitless  one, 
because  Ahaz  did  not  follow  his  counsels.  The  Lord  who  sent 
him  knew  beforehand  what  would  be  the  result  of  his  effort. 
The  great  purpose  of  his  interference  w^as,  to  estabHsh  clearly 
before  the  event  took  place,  that  Israel's  embroilment  with 
the  great  powers  of  the  world  had  been  brought  about  by  the 
crimes  of  the  house  of  David,  and  that,  therefore,  it  should  not 
give  rise  to  doubts  of  God's  omnipotence  and  grace,  whose  help 
had  been  offered,  but  contemptuously  rejected. 

In  close  connection  with  the  great  crisis  at  which  the 
history  of  the  people  of  God  had  now  arrived,  stands  the 
greater  fulness,  richness  and  clearness  which  then  began  to 
characterise  the  promises  and  proclamations  of  the  Messiah. 
From  this  time  onwards  Christ  is  represented  to  Judah  as  an 
Immanuel  against  the  kingdoms  of  the  world,  as  the  one  who 
shall  at  last,  on  His  appearance,  overcome  the  world,  and  lay 
it  at  the  feet  of  the  people  of  God.  And  this  promise  has,  in 
truth,  been  fulfilled  already,  and  will  be  still  more  completely 
fulfilled,  through  Him  who  said  to  His  disciples,  "  be  of  good 
cheer,  I  have  overcome  the  world,"  and  who,  even  before  our 
very  eyes,  has  begun  a  new  and  mighty  course  of  victories, 
breaking  to  pieces,  like  a  potter's  vessel,  the  framework  of  the 
Turkish  and  Chinese  powers.  Before  the  minds  of  such  as 
were  troubled  and  anxious  lest  the  throne  of  David  should  be 
utterly  overfhrown  by  the  Assyrians,  Isaiah  sets  the  glorious 
picture  of  the  kingdom  of  Judah  in  its  final  perfection.  If 
the  faithful  took  this  truly  to  heart,  the  King  of  Assyi'ia  m\ist 
appear  to  them  in  an  entirely  different  light :  they  must  re- 
gard him,  in  fact,  as  a  miserable  wretch.  The  giant  shrunk 
at  once,  after  such  promises,  into  a  contemptible  dwarf,  and 
they  themselves,  with  the  tears  still  moistening  their  eyes, 
were  forced  to  laugh  at  themselves  for  having  been  so  terribly 
afraid. 

That  which  is  of  the  flesh,  is  flesh,  but  the  Spirit  breathes 
where  he  wills.  The  proverb,  that  "  the  apple  does  not  fall 
far  from  the  trunk,"  has,  God  be  praised !  only  a  limited  ap- 
plication. Grace  gains  the  victory  over  nature.  As  Ahaz  was 
distinguished  by  ungodliness,  so  was  his  son  Hezekiah  distin- 
guished by  his  deep  and  living  fear  of  God.  In  consequence 
thereof  there  was  a  pause  in  the  development  of  corru])tion, 


356  THE  PROPHET  ISAIAH. 

and,  therefore,  also  in  the  execution  of  the  divine  judgments. 
By  the  reformation  of  Hezekiah  many  things  that  were  ready 
to  die  were  revived.'  Under  this  king,  who  was  Isaiah's 
spiritual  son,  and  with  whom  he  had  one  heart  and  one  soul, 
the  activity  of  the  prophet  first  reached  its  greatest  extent 
and  importance.  His  work  was  never  so  glorious  and  telling 
as  in  the  very  critical  fourteenth  year  of  Hezekiah's  reign. 
Then  the  Assyrians  broke  into  the  land,  after  having,  in  the 
sixth  year  of  Hezekiah's  reign,  made  an  end  of  the  kingdom 
of  the  ten  tribes.  All  rationalists,  all  men  of  a  merely  natural 
sound  understanding,  despaired  :  for  it  was  in  truth  utterly 
irrational  to  hope.  Hezekiah  believed,  and  prayed,  "  O  Lord 
our  God,  save  us  from  his  hand,  that  all  the  kingdoms  of  the 
earth  may  know  that  thou  art  the  Lord,  and  thou  only."  Then 
sent  Isaiah  to  Hezekiah,  saying  to  him,  "  thus  saith  the  Lord, 
the  God  of  Israel,  whereas  thou  hast  prayed  to  me,  in  the 
matter  of  Sennacherib,  King  of  Assyria,  this  is  that  which  the 
Lord  speaketh  concerning  him,  "  the  virgin  the  daughter  of 
Zion,  despiseth  thee,  and  laugheth  thee  to  scorn,  and  the 
daughter  of  Jenisalem  shaketh  her  head  at  thee."  Whom  hast 
thou  reproached  and  blasphemed  ?  Against  whom  hast  thou 
exalted  thy  voice  ?  And  thou  liftest  up  thine  eyes  against 
the  Holy  One  of  Israel.  Because  thou  ragest  against  me,  and 
thy  pride  is  come  up  into  mine  ears,  I  will  put  a  ring  in  thy 
nose,  and  a  bit  in  thy  mouth,  and  will  lead  thee  back  by  the 
way  by  which  thou  earnest."  This  promise  of  immediate 
divine  assistance  was  fulfilled  ;  whilst,  on  the  contrary,  the 
hope  which  the  worldly-minded  had  set  on  the  help  of  the 
Egyptians,  and  which  the  prophet  had  sternly  censured,  proved 
itself  deceptive.  Just  when  the  Assyrian  army  intended  to 
strike  a  decisive  blow  against  Jerusalem,  the  head  of  the  king- 
dom of  God,  the  greatest  part  of  it  was  suddenly  destroyed 
by  a  divine  judgment,  by  a  terrible  plague,  which  afterwards 
laid  hold  on,  without  however  terminating  the  life,  of  the 
king,  in  order  that  he  might  not  exalt  himself  above  the  great 
grace  vouchsafed  to  him. 

In  reference  to  the  position  taken  by  Isaiah  in  this  year  of 
horror  and  of  grace,  Luther  remarks,  "  he  stands  firmly  as  a 
rock  with  his  promise  that  Jerusalem  should  be  defended  and 
delivered  ;  which  miracle  is  one  of  the  greatest  recorded  in  the 


THE  PROPHET  ISAIAH.  357 

Scriptures,  not  merely  as  regards  the  fact  that  so  miglity  a 
monarch  should  have  been  smitten  by  God  before  Jerusalem, 
but  also  as  regards  the  faith  which  could  believe  in  the  pro- 
mised rescue.  It  is  a  miracle,  I  say,  that  a  man  in*Jerusalem 
could  believe  in  an  event  apparently  so  impossible.  There 
must  undoubtedly  have  been  many  unbelievers  who  not  only 
laughed  at  him,  but  heaped  on  him  words  of  contempt. 
Notwithstanding,  he  breaks  through  all  by  his  immoveable 
faith — by  the  faith  which  alone  had  smitten  so  miglity  a 
monarch.  Whence  it  is  sufficiently  apparent,  that  Isaiah  must 
have  been  a  gTeat  and  precious  man,  and  highly  esteemed  in 
God's  sight." 

During  this  year,  the  most  remarkable  in  the  prophet's  life, 
and  rich  in  those  judgments  and  acts  of  grace  by  which  the 
divine  glory  was  manifested,  his  prophecies  issued  forth  in  a 
full  stream,  spreading  themselves  out  in  all  directions.  He 
touched  not  only  on  the  fates  of  Judah,  but  also  on  those  of 
the  heathen  nations.  He  speaks,  moreover,  not  merely  of  the 
phases  which  history  would  take  in  the  immediate  future,  but, 
from  the  position  of  ecstasy  which  he  occupied  during  this 
whole  time,  his  eye  surveyed  also  the  remotest  events.  He 
saw  especially  how,  at  a  future  day,  the  Babylonish  power, 
now  ah-eady  laying  its  foundations,  would  take  the  place  of 
the  Assyrian  ;  and  how  it  would  find  the  fields  of  Judah  white 
for  the  harvest :  he  saw  that  the  overthrow  of  the  oppressor 
of  the  world  would  be  effected  by  Cyrus,  the  victor  from  the 
west,  who  would  let  the  people  of  God  return  from  their 
banishment :  he  beheld  at  the  close  of  that  development  of 
affairs  which  then  commenced,  the  deliverer  of  the  world, 
whose  portrait  he  paints  in  the  livehest  colours.  Isaiah  gives 
a  specially  distinct  description  of  the  prophetical  and  high- 
priestly  offices  of  Christ ;  whereas  earlier  utterances  relate,  in 
great  part,  only  to  his  kingly  office.  One  allusion,  however, 
to  the  high-priestly  character  of  Christ  there  exists  even  so 
early  as  Psalm  ex.  Of  the  two  States  of  Christ,  Isaiah  treats 
especially  of  that  of  humiliation ;  he  brings  the  Messiah  pro- 
minently forward  as  suffering.  At  an  earlier  period,  on  the 
contrary,  it  is  Christ's  state  of  glory  that  is  specially  described ; 
though  none  give  more  gloi'ious  pictures  even  of  that,  than 
Isaiah,  when  his  object  is  to  counteract  the  fears  entertained, 


858  THE  PROPHET  ISAIAH. 

that,  through  the  pressure  of  the  mighty  heathen  nations, 
God's  kingdom  would  be  overthrown.  The  first  strokes  of 
his  picture  of  l.he  humiliated,  suffering,  atoning  Christ,  are  in 
chap.  xi.  L,  "  and  there  shall  come  forth  a  rod  out  of  the  hewn 
down  stem  of  Jesse,  and  a  branch  will  bear  fruit  out  of  his 
roots."  According  to  this,  Christ  could  only  come  when  all 
the  glory  of  the  stem  of  David  had  previously  vanished,  when 
that  stem  was  hewn  down  even  to  the  roots,  and  no  longer 
bore  the  aspect  of  its  royal,  but  of  its  rustic,  ancestor.  Herein 
is  contained  consolation  for  the  Church  in  times  when  it  seems 
to  be  rapidly  going  down  hill.  This  aspect,  hov/ever,  of  the 
prophet's  proclamation,  is  properly  the  subject  of  the  second 
'part,  which  was  intended  rather  for  the  select  few,  than  for 
the  people  at  large.  There,  in  chapter  xlvi.,  the  servant  of 
God  is  presented  to  us  as  the  meek,  and,  from  the  heart, 
humble  Redeemer,  who  will  not  break  the  bruised  reed,  nor 
quench  the  smoking  flax,  and  who,  by  this  His  compassionate 
love,  will  establish  justice  in  the  whole  earth.  In  chapter 
xlix.  a  description  is  given  of  the  manner  in  which  the  cove- 
nanted people  will  reward  the  faithful  labours  of  the  servant 
of  God  with  ingratitude,  so  that  he  will  be  compelled  to  ex- 
claim, "  I  have  laboured  in  vain,  and  I  have  spent  my  strength 
for  nought  and  in  vain :"  but  we  are  at  the  same  time  told 
that,  in  recompence  for  the  obstinacy  of  Israel,  the  Lord  will 
give  him  the  heathen  for  his  inheritance.  In  chapter  i.  the 
sufferings  of  the  servant  of  God  are  depicted,  in  that  aspect 
of  them  which  is  common  both  to  Christ,  the  Head,  and  to 
His  members  :  we*  are  told  how,  in  the  fulfilment  of  his  calling, 
he  will  present  his  back  to  the  smiters,  and  will  not  hide  his 
face  from  disgrace  and  spitting.  And  finally,  in  chapter  liii., 
that  crowning  point  of  the  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament, 
concerning  which  Luther  said  that,  as  a  matter  of  life  and 
death,  every  Christian  ought  to  be  able  to  repeat  it  from 
memory,  Christ  is  set  before  us  in  the  highest  aspect  of  His 
work,  to  wit,  in  connection  with  His  atoning  and  vicarious 
sufferings  ;  and  as  being  in  Himself  at  once  the  true  High 
Priest,  and  the  true  atoning  sacrifice.  Alluding  to  this  pro- 
clamation, John  the  Baptist  designated  Christ,  the  Lamb  of 
God  taking  away  the  sins  of  the  world.  The  words  of  this 
drophecy — "  He  bore  our  sickness  and  carried  our  sorrows, 


THE  PROPHET  ISAIAH.  359 

He  was  wounded  for  our  transgression,  and  bruised  for  our 
iniquities  ;  the  punishment  lies  on  him,  that  we  might  have 
peace,  and  by  His  wounds  we  are  healed," — are  deeply  engra- 
ven in  the  hearts  of  all  who  are  at  all  acquainted  with  Christ. 
There  are,  besides,  the  following  peculiar  Messianic  elements 
in  the  writings  of  Isaiah.  A  bright  and  clear  Old  Testament 
testimony  to  the  divinity  of  Christ  is  furnished  by  chapter  ix. 
6,  "  Unto  us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a  son  is  given,  and  the 
government  is  on  his  shoulder,  and  his  name  is  called  Won- 
derful Counsellor,  God-hero,  Eternal  Father,  Prince  of  Peace." 
As  a  Counsellor,  he  is  a  marvel,  because  his  whole  person  is 
marvellous.  He  is  a  God-hero  : — a  hero  infinitely  transcend- 
ing all  human  heroes,  in  that  he  is  God,  in  that  he  is  El.  The 
event  of  Christ's  birth  from  a  virgin,  which  stands  in  imme- 
diate connection  with  His  Godhead,  is  recorded  by  Matthew 
in  such  a  manner  that  Isaiah's  words  in  chap.  vii.  1 4,  form  the 
prominent  feature  of  the  narrative.  According  to  the  same 
Evangelist  (IVIatthew  iv.  1  3-1 6),  the  Lord  took  up  his  abode 
on  the  Galilean  Sea,  in  order  that  might  be  fulfilled  the  pro- 
phecy of  Isaiah  (chap.  ix.  1 0),  which  says  that  Galilee,  and  in 
general,  the  neighbourhood  of  the  sea  of  Gennesareth,  though 
hitherto  covered  with  peculiar  disgrace,  should  be  raised  to 
special  honour  by  the  appearance  of  the  Redeemer,  who  should 
come  to  take  compassion  on  the  miserable,  and  to  seek  the 
lost.  Isaiah,  too,  was  the  first  to  announce  that  the  Redemp- 
tion would  do  away  with  the  efiects  of  the  fall  on  the  irra- 
tional creation,  and  bring  it  back  to  the  state  in  which  it  was 
in  Paradise  ;  "  the  wolf  shall  dwell  with  the  lamb,  and  the 
leopard  shaU  lie  down  with  the  goat ;  and  the  calf  and  the 
young  lion  and  the  fatling  together :  and  a  little  child  sliall 
lead  them,  etc."  (chap.  xi.  6-9).  He  first  proclaimed  to  the 
people  of  God,  that  death,  as  it  had  not  existed  in  the  begin- 
ning, so  it  would  be  abolished  in  the  end  :  "  he  destroyeth 
death  for  ever,  and  the  Lord  wipeth  away  tears  from  aU  faces," 
(chap.  XXV.  8,  with  which  compare  xxvi.  19).  And,  lastly, 
Isaiah  describes  the  healjng  powers  which  would  be  commu- 
nicated to  the  poor  human  race,  through  Christ,  in  those  words 
of  chap.  XXXV.  5,  6,  which  were  so  remarkably  confii-med  by 
the  actual  results, — "Then  the  eyes  of  the  blind  shall  be 
opened,  and  the  ears  of  the  deaf  shall  be  unstopped.     Then 


860  THE  PROPHET  ISAIAH. 

shall  the  lame  man  leap  as  a  hart,  and  the  tongue  of  the  dumb 
shall  sing," — words,  however,  which  did  but  begin  to  be  ful- 
filled in  the  cures  effected  by  Christ  during  his  earthly  course. 
His  wonderful  cures  in  Judea  were  only,  as  it  were,  the  pledge 
and  prelude  of  the  true  and  complete  healing  of  humanity, 
just  as  his  raisings  from  the  dead  were  but  anticipations  of  the 
future  universal  resurrection.  The  real  and  comprehensive 
fulfilment  of  Isaiah's  prophecy  belongs  to  the  time  concerning 
which  it  has  been  said,  "  that  which  here  is  full  of  sufiering, 
sighs  and  complainings,  will  then  enjoy  full,  vigorous,  and 
glorious  life." 

Isaiah's  prophetic  work  terminated  with  the  reign  of  Heze- 
kiah.  This  is  clearly  proved  by  the  superscription  in  chap, 
i.  1.  But  according  to  the  tradition,  he  ended  his  life  dining 
the  reign  of  Hezekiah's  son  and  successor,  Manasseh,  who,  to 
the  utmost  of  his  ability,  destroyed  the  good  which  his  pious 
father  had  wrought.  He  introduced  all  kinds  of  idolatry  and 
superstition,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  erect  altars  to  idol 
gods  in  the  Temple.  Impiety  now  again  boldly  lifted  up  its 
head.  In  Manasseh,  the  ungodly  party,  which  counted  very 
many,  especially  of  the  great,  amongst  its  adherents,  rose  to 
the  throne  and  power.  He  was  a  king  according  to  the  heart 
of  the  people ;  that  is,  of  the  great  mass  of  the  nation,  in  con- 
trast to  the  always  comparatively  small  and  select  number 
which  really  feared  God.  Hence  the  judgments,  which  were 
primarily  the  result  of  his  ungodliness,  were  not  altogether 
undeserved  by  the  nation  at  large.  In  the  king  was  concen- 
trated the  sin  of  the  people.  From  the  days  of  Solomon  down 
to  that  great  catastrophe,  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the 
Chaldeans,  a  corrupt  and  sinful  party  continually  existed  in  the 
kingdom  of  Judah.  All  that  the  governments  of  godly  kings 
could  do  was,  not  to  break  it  entirely  up,  but  only  to  restrain, 
hinder,  and  repress  it  in  its  manifestations,  which  naturally 
assumed  a  more  violent  and  unbridled  form,  as  soon  as  external 
liberty  was  secured.  Accordingly  we  find  that,  after  every  refor- 
mation, wickedness  not  only  returned,  but  assumed  larger  pro- 
portions than  before.  In  its  opposition  to  the  higher  prin- 
ciples, the  lower  is  carried  on  to  ever  greater  lengths  :  it  is 
driven  necessarily  to  seek  to  perfect  itself,  until  at  last  the 
measure  of  sin  is  full,  and  the  flood  of  Divine  judgment  rushes 


THE  PROPHET  ISAIAH.  361 

in  to  do  its  righteous  work.  Before  such  a  consummation  no 
true  and  thorough  reformation  was  possible.  It  must  be  pre- 
ceded by  the  sweeping  of  the  thrashing-floor,  and  the  burning 
of  the  chaff  with  unquenchable  fire.  Such  devouring  judg- 
ments, such  great  reckonings,  occur  frequently  in  the  history 
of  the  people  of  God  :  and  the  nearer  they  approach  the  more 
impossible  does  it  become  for  the  servants  of  God  to  exert  a 
wide  and  thorough  influence.  Nothing  can  be  more  perverse 
than  the  opinion,  that  in  this  matter  all  that  is  required  is, 
that  we  should  run  and  make  haste,  as  if  the  ftiult  lay  solely 
with  the  witnessing  Church,  when  no  national  conversion  to 
God  is  effected.  Did  the  Lord  of  glory  Himself,  and  His  holy 
apostles,  accomplish  any  such  work  ?  But  we  must  not,  there- . 
fore,  suppose,  that  the  activity  of  the  godly  and  devoted  kings, 
and  of  the  prophets,  who  stood  at  their  side  and  strengthened 
their  hands,  was  lost.  It  served,  at  all  fevents,  to  save  what 
was  to  be  saved,  to  sustain  and  gather  together  the  little  flock. 
And  if  it  did  nothing  else  but  ripen  the  mass  of  the  nation  for 
judgment,  and  give  opportunity  to  the  evil  to  become  worse 
and  worse  through  its  conflict  with  the  good,  it  was  well  re- 
warded. Even  judgment  brings  glory  to  the  Lord  :  He  sanc- 
tifies Himself  in  those  who  will  not  sanctify  Him.  Further- 
more, judgments  themselves  are  a  means  of  grace,  for  nothing 
can  befal  the  Church  of  God  which  is  not  also  a  grace,  whatever 
else  it  may  be,  and  however  its  true  character  may  be  disg-uised. 
When  sin  has  ripened,  and  its  punishment  has  begim,  the 
people  returns  to  itself,  becomes  wise,  and  repents :  and  then 
the  select  few  who  had  remained  faithful  form  again  the 
central  point  around  which  the  whole  nation  gathers  itself 
Of  Manasseh  it  is  said,  in  2  Kings  xxi.  1 6,  "  Moreover  Ma- 
nasseh  shed  innocent  blood  very  much,  till  he  had  filled  Jeru- 
salem from  one  end  to  another."  That  this  innocent  blood 
was  that  of  the  prophets,  and  of  such  as  joined  themselves  to 
them  as  their  spiritual  centre  and  leaders,  is  clear  from  the 
context.  Immediately  before  it  is  related  how  the  prophets 
worked  zealously  to  prevent  the  apostasy  of  Manasseh.  If 
Isaiah  still  lived  at  the  time  of  that  persecution — and  2  Chro- 
nicles xxxii.  3  2,  where  he  is  said  to  have  written  a  life  of  king 
Hezekiah,  whom  consequently  he  must  have  outlived,  would 
seem  to  warrant  the  supposition — he  must  have  been  one  of 


362  THE  PROPHET  ISAIAH. 

the  first  to  ikW  a  sacrifice  to  it.  He  was  regarded  as  the  main 
spiritual  originator  of  the  pressure  with  which,  for  twenty-nine 
years,  impiety  had  been  burdened.  Against  him  its  hate  was 
concentrated,  for  on  him,  above  all  others,  had  the  Spirit  of 
the  Lord  rested.  Thus  far  do  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament 
carry  us.  At  this  point  we  meet  with  a  tradition,  which  ex- 
pressly reports  that  Isaiah  was  counted  worthy  to  suflfer  mar- 
tyrdom, in  extreme  old  age,  under  Manasseh,  and  that  he  was, 
in  fact,  sawn  to  pieces.  This  tradition  is  widely  spread,  both 
in  Jewish  and  Oriental  writings.  Not  only  do  the  Fathers  of 
the  Church  mention  it,  such  as  Ambrose,  who  says,  "  More 
easy  was  it  for  the  saw  to  divide  the  framework  of  the  body 
of  Isaiah  than  to  bend  his  faith ;"  but  even  men  of  the  second 
century  of  the  Christian  Church,  such  as  Justin  Martyr,  who 
reproaches  the  Jews  with  having  sawn  Isaiah  to  pieces  with  a 
wooden  saw.  Even  in  the  New  Testament  there  is  a  trace  of 
the  same  tradition.  We  find  in  it  an  explanation  of  the  words, 
"  they  were  sawn  asunder,"  which  occur  in  the  desciiption 
given  in  the  sufferings  of  the  prophets,  in  the  epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  (see  chap.  xi.  37),  and  plainly  allude  to  some  special 
case. 

The  prophetic  work  of  Isaiah  terminated,  then,  with  the 
reign  of  Hezekiah.  Probably,  however,  his  death  did  not  occur 
tiU  Manasseh  occupied  the  throne,  and  then  he  was  martyred, 
after  having,  in  the  evening  of  his  life,  made  a  collection  of  his 
prophecies,  which  he  left  as  a  bequest  to  after  generations. 
The  manner  of  Isaiah's  own  death  presignified  the  treatment 
to  which  his  prophecies  have  been  subjected.  The  naturalism 
of  the  last  century  has  sawn  him  asunder  afresh  in  his  pro- 
phecies. In  both  cases  the  moving  principle  was  the  same — 
namely,  the  hatred  which  the  natural  man  has  of  everything 
which  comes  forth  directly  from  the  living  God,  from  whom 
he  desires  to  be  fi-eed  at  any  cost. 

Let  us  now  cast  a  olance  at  the  arrang-ement  of  the  collec- 
tion.  The  principle  of  the  order  is  that  of  time.  In  the  first 
six  chapters  a  view  is  given  of  the  work  of  the  prophet  under 
TJzziah  and  Jotham.  What  follows,  up  to  chapter  x.  4,  belongs 
to  the  time  of  Ahaz.  All  that  intervenes  between  this  and 
chapter  xxxv.  pertains  to  the  period  of  the  Assyrian  invasion, 
which  took  place  during  Hezekiah's  reign,  and  in  the  presence 


THE  PEOPHET  ISAIAH,  363 

of  which  Isaiah  displayed  his  prophetical  gifts,  in  a  manner 
previously  unequalled.  The  historical  section,  from  chapter 
xxxvi.  to  chapter  xxxix.,  in  which  the  prophet  furnishes  the 
basis  for  the  understanding  of  the  prophecies  uttered  by  him 
during  the  most  important  and  productive  period  of  his  voca- 
tion, forms  the  transition  from  the  first  part  to  the  second, 
commencing  with  chapter  xl.  The  close  thereof  is  formed  by 
the  proclamation  of  the  leading  away  of  Judah  to  Babylon, 
which  Isaiah  uttered  to  Hezekiah,  after  that,  as  the  preceding 
chapters  record,  the  danger  threatened  by  the  Assyrians  had 
been  happily  averted.  It  is  said,  in  chap,  xxxix.  6,  7,  "  Be- 
hold, the  days  come  that  aU  that  is  in  thy  kingdom  wiU  be 
taken  away,  and  that  which  thy  fathers  have  laid  up  in  store 
until  this  day  shall  be  carried  to  Babylon  ;  nothing  will  be  left, 
saith  the  Lord :  and  of  thy  sons  that  shall  issue  from  thee, 
which  thou  shalt  beget,  shall  they  take  away :  and  they  shall 
be  eunuchs  in  the  palace  of  the  king  of  Babylon."  Herein  is 
concentrated,  as  it  were,  the  chastising  and  threatening  aspect 
of  the  prophet's  mission,  and  occasion  furnished  for  the  con- 
solation to  which  the  second  part  of  his  prophecies  is  mainly 
devoted. 

The  substance  of  this  second  part  is,  in  a  general  way,  set 
before  us  in  the  very  first  words  of  the  fortieth  chapter — 
"  Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye,  my  people,  saith  your  God.  Speak 
to  the  heart  of  Jerusalem,  and  ciy  unto  her  that  her  warfare 
is  accomplished,  that  her  iniquity  is  atoned,  that  she  receiveth 
at  the  Lord's  hand  double  for  all  her  sins."  Accordingly  we 
should  expect  consolation  to  be  mainly  characteristic  of  the 
second  part.  But  inasmuch  as,  for  the  people  of  God  there  is 
no  merely  external  salvation,  inasmuch  as  its  salvation  is  in- 
separably connected  with  repentance,  admonition  must  neces- 
sarily go  hand  in  hand  with  the  proclamation  of  redemption. 
In  the  portion  immediately  following,  where  the  preacher,  in 
the  desert  of  wickedness,  calls  upon  all  to  prepare  the  way  of 
the  Lord,  whose  glory  is  about  to  be  revealed,  special  stress  is 
laid  on  this  second,  less  prominent  and  less  visible,  element 
Repentance,  which  can  alone  give  us  access  to  salvation,  is 
that  preparation  of  the  way  which  the  prophet  requires. 

The  consolation  is,  for  the  most  part,  very  general  in  its 
character,  consisting  in  references  to  a  future  full  of  gi-ace  and 


364  THE  PROPHET  ISAIAH. 

good.  In  some  parts,  however,  the  proclamation  of  deliverance 
takes  a  more  special,  individual  shape.  Such  special  announce- 
ments refer  to  a  twofold  object.  The  prophet,  in  the  first 
instance,  comforts  the  people  with  the  prospect  of  restoration 
from  the  exile  in  Babylon.  This  he  describes  under  the  love- 
liest images,  which  are  frequently  borrowed  from  the  history 
of  the  deliverance  of  the  nation  from  Egypt.  It  must,  how- 
ever, be  remarked,  that  even  those  prophecies,  which  mainly 
refer  to  the  lower  object,  contain  elements  of  a  wider  and  fuller 
range,  so  that  they  by  no  means  become  antiquated  when 
their  primary  purpose  has  been  answered.  Before  the  pro- 
phet's spiritual  eye  stood  the  king  of  the  morning,  who,  being 
commissioned  by  the  Lord,  should  chastise  the  oppressors  of 
Zion,  and  lead  back  the  people  to  its  home.  The  second  sub- 
ject of  his  descriptions  is  the  redemption  to  be  effected  by  the 
servant  of  God,  by  Christ,  who,  after  having  endured  humilia- 
tion, suffering,  and  death,  and  having  thereby  wrought  out 
an  atonement,  would,  in  the  glorified  kingdom  of  God,  do 
away  with  all  the  evils  introduced  by  sin. 

The  first  part  consists  of  single  discourses.  The  second 
forms  a  connected  whole.  It  falls,  as  Eilckert  first  recognised, 
into  three  books.  The  first  indication  of  this  is  the  fact  that 
at  the  end  of  chapters  xlviii.  and  lix.,  the  same  thought  occurs, 
namely,  the  exclusion  of  the  wicked  from  the  redemption  of 
the  future,  expressed  in  the  same  words,  namely,  "  there  is  no 
peace,  saith  my  God,  to  the  wicked."  The  first  book  is  occu- 
pied with  the  lower,  outward  deliverance.  After  chapter  xlviii. 
nothing  more  is  said  concerning  Babylon,  concerning  the 
Chaldeans,  concerning  the  conqueror  from  the  East.  The 
second  book  contains  the  proclamation  of  the  personal  Messiah, 
which  is  wanting  in  the  first,  with  the  exception  of  chap.  xlii. 
1-9  where,  after  the  first  announcement  had  been  made  of  the 
coming  of  the  author  of  the  lower  deliverance,  a  contrast  is 
anticipaforily  drawn  between  him  and  the  author  of  the 
higher  deliverance,  to  give  a  more  complete  picture  of  whom 
is  the  task  of  the  second  book.  What  is  said  of  the  person 
of  the  Redeemer  in  the  third  book  is  brief  and  in  the  form  of  • 
hints,  designed  to  form  a  connecting  link  between  it  and  the 
second.  So  far  as  the  character  of  this  book  is  one  of  iwomise, 
it  is  occupied  with  the  delineation  of  the  glory  of  the  king- 
dom of  God  in  the  new  phase  on  which  it  will  enter  through 


THE   PROPHET  ISAIAH.  365 

the  work  of  the  Redeemer — a  glor}'-  which  will  be  consummated 
in  the  foundation  of  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth.  Such  a 
description  of  the  giory  of  Zion  as  is  contained  in  chap.  Ix, 
cannot  be  found  in  parts  second  and  first.  In  the  third  book, 
however,  chastis/'ment  and  admonition  predominate.  That 
the  fathers  of  the  Church  justly  designated  Isaiah  the  Evan- 
gelist among  the  prophets,  is  plain  from  the  fact  that  he  only 
deals  largely  in  threatenings  and  punishments  at  the  conclusion, 
and  after  having  unfolded  the  richest  and  fullest  promises.  It 
is  further  evident  also  from  the  fact  that  he  does  not  deal  in 
threatenings  alone  even  in  the  last  book,  but  interweaves  pro- 
mises the  most  glorious  and  the  most  sig-nally  adapted  to  draw 
sinners  to  repentance. 

What  is  the  deepest  and  sorest  wound  of  our  own  age  ?  It 
is  that  it  has  lost  its  sense  of  the  brightness  and  distinctness 
of  the  image  of  God  !  For  this  wound  the  Pauline  doctrine 
of  justification  by  faith,  whether  rightly  or  wrongly  under- 
stood, is  not  a  sufficient  cure  :  here,  however,  an  excellent 
specific  is  offered  to  us.  Isaiah  saw  the  Lord  sitting  on  His 
throne  high  and  lifted  up  :  Seraphim  stood  above  Him,  and 
one  cried  to  the  other  and  said.  Holy,  holy,  holy  is  the  Lord 
Saboath,  all  lands  are  full  of  His  glory.  This  is  the  ground 
in  which  all  his  prophecies  are  rooted,  out  of  which  they  draw 
their  life.  They  set  God  livingly  before  our  eyes.  They  ex- 
hibit Him  to  us  in  the  fulness  and  absolute  energy  of  His 
'punitive  justice,  and  teach  us  to  regard  our  own  sin,  and  the 
sin  of  our  nation,  not  with  our  own,  but  with  God's  eyes. 
"Jerusalem  stumbleth  and  Judah  falleth,  because  their 
tongue  and  their  works  are  contraiy  to  the  Lord,  to  offend  His 
glorious  eyes."  They  show  us  God  also  in  the  infinite  fulness 
and  boundless  energy  of  the  cor)ipassionating  love  which 
causes  Him  to  be  interested  in  the  "  wretched,  the  troubled 
and  the  comfortless ;"  they  show  us  God  in  the  energy  of  His 
faithfulness  towards  His  Church,  towards  His  beloved  Zion, 
which  He  covers  with  his  wings  as  do  the  birds,  which  He 
protects  and  saves,  round  about  which  He  goes  to  watc^i  and 
help,  and  on  behalf  of  which,  until  He  has  finally  created  the 
new  heavens  and  the  new  earth.  He  will  again  and  again  fulfil 
the  words,  "  behold  darkness  covereth  the  earth,  and  thick 
darkness  the  peoples,  but  upon  thee  the  Lord  ariseth,  and  the 
gloiy  of  the  Lord  appeareth  above  thee." 


THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE. 


THE  SACEIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE. 


The  most  general  and  comprehensive  term  used  in  the  Old 
Testament  for  sacrifice,  is  Corban,  which  means  strictly 
"  offering."  It  has  the  same  force  as  the  German  word  Opfer, 
and  our  offering,  both  which  are  derived  from  the  Latin  offerre. 
The  verb  from  which  Corban  is  derived,  signifies  "  to  present 
a  gift,"  and  is  used  of  gifts  which  are  not  brought  to  God. 
How  very  general  the  idea  of  Corban  is,  may  be  understood 
from  the  fact  that  it  is  used  not  only  of  sacrifices  proper,  but 
of  the  sacred  treasure  which  was  formed  by  the  voluntary 
gifts  of  the  Children  of  Israel. 

The  foundation  of  the  custom  and  necessity  of  sacrifice  or 
offering  is  contained  in  the  words,  "  appear  not  before  me 
empty,"  (Exodus  xxiii.  15,)  or  literally  rendered,  "my  coun- 
tenance shall  not  be  beheld  empty  ;"  to  which  we  find  added 
at  the  subsequent  repetition  of  the  law  in  Deuteronomy, 
"  every  man  according  to  the  gift  of  his  hand,  according  to 
the  blessing  which  the  Lord  thy  God  hath  given,"  (chap.  xvi. 
17.)  Impiety  says,  "who  is  the  Almighty,  that  we  should 
serve  Him  ?  Or  what  are  we  the  better,  if  we  call  upon  Him  f 
Godliness,  on  the  contrary,  is  driven  by  an  irresistible  impulse 
to  seek  its  origin  and  som-ce,  and  knows  that  so  certainly  as 
man  is  created  in  the  image  of  God,  even  so  certainl}'^  may  he 
not  appear  empty  before  his  Creator  :  its  feeling  is,  that  man 
cannot  refuse  to  bring  back  in  loving  devotion  what  God  has 
bestowed,  that  he  cannot  refuse  to  make  sacrifice,  without 
denying  the  true  dignity  of  his  nature,  and  reducing  himself 
to  the  level  of  the  brute,  which  consumes  the  divine  gifts  in 
2  A 


370  THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE. 

stupid  indifference,  whicli  can  only  receive,  and  not  give.  The 
prophets  describe  thoroughly  con  amove,  how  the  beasts  make 
their  habitation  in  the  once  so  proud  and  great  cities  of  the 
world.  As  a  righteous  retribution,  they  took  the  place  of  the 
generations  of  men  which  had  become  brutalized,  and  refused 
any  longer  to  sacrifice.  The  duty  and  impulse  to  make  sacri- 
fices or  offerings,  becomes  stronger  in  proportion  as  God's  pre- 
venient  gifts  are  greater.  First  under  the  new  covenant  can 
men  experience  the  most  complete  joy  in  sacrifice,  for  now 
those  words,  "  let  us  love  Him  for  He  hath  first  loved  us,"  and 
that  question,  "this  have  I  done  for  thee,  what  doest  thou 
for  me?"  have  acquired  an  entirely  different,  even  their  full, 
force. 

,  Several  writers  on  this  subject  have  sought  to  show  that 
the  essential  nature  of  sacrifice  in  general,  is  set  before  us  in 
Leviticus  xvii.  11,  where  the  ground  of  the  prohibition  to  eat 
blood  is  given  in  the  words,  "  for  the  soul  of  the  flesh  is  in  the 
blood,  and  I  have  given  it  to  you  on  the  altar  to  atone  for 
your  souls,  for  the  blood  atones  for  the  soul,"  (not  as  some 
render  the  Hebrew,  "  atones  through  the  soul.")  They  con- 
clude from  this  passage  that  the  blood,  as  being  the  most 
fitting  and  true  means  of  atonement,  is  the  very  kernel  and 
central  point  of  the  sacrifice.  It  is,  however,  evidently  not 
the  "  key  to  the  entire  Mosaic  idea  of  sacrifice,"  as  has  been 
said,  but  only  to  the  significance  of  that  part  of  sacrifice  which 
consisted  in  the  shedding  of  blood.  If  it  could  be  proved  that 
the  shedding  of  blood  is  the  root  and  fundamental  feature  of 
all  sacrifice,  the  position  w^ould  be  tenable.  But  so  far  from 
this  being  the  case,  we  find  alongside  of  the  bloody,  also 
bloodless  sacrifices.  And  even  as  regards  the  bloody  saciifices, 
the  shedding  of  blood  was  the  principal  matter  only  in  the 
case  of  sin-offerings  and  trespass-offerings :  whereas  in  the 
case  of  burnt-offerings,  as  also  of  thank-offerings,  it  was  quite 
a  secondary  and  subordinate  element.  The  characteristic  fea- 
ture of  burnt  offerings  was  decidedly  the  burning,  as  the  sym- 
bolical expression  of  consecration,  or  devotion.  The  very  name 
tells  us  this.  The  passage  in  question  has  therefore  nothing 
whatever  to  do  with  the  general  idea  of  sacrifice  or  offering.  It 
only  throws  light  on  the  significance  of  one  single  feature  in  sacri- 
fice.    Alongside  of  the  declaration  that,  "  without  shedding  of 


THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE.  371 

blood  there  is  no  forgiveness,"*  (^Hebrews  ix.  22,)  it  places 
that  other,  "  wherever,  in  the  Church  of  the  Lord,  there  is  shed- 
ding of  blood,  there  is  also  forgiveness,  atonement."  The  folse 
assertion,  that  atonement  is  the  fundamental  idea  of  Sacrifice 
in  general,  has  created  very  much  confusion. 

The  Scripture  opposite  of  sacrifice  is  the  Bern,  curse,  excom- 
munication,— a  fearful  word.  It  is  as  certain  as  that  God  havS 
created  man  in  His  own  image,  that  He  cannot  stand  in  a 
relation  of  indiflference  towards  him.  In  one  way  or  in  another 
His  just  claims  on  man  must  be  met,  either  by  the  sacrifice 
which  man  cheerfully  and  lovingly  oflfers,  or  by  the  ban  with 
which  His  angry  majesty  visits  those  who  refuse  to  sacrifice. 
Times  in  which  the  spirit  of  sacrifice  has  died  out  in  the  hearts 
of  men,  are  always  followed  by  those  to  which  the  words,  "  I 
come  and  smite  the  land  with  the  curse,"  are  justly  applicable. 
The  Scriptures  commit  partly  to  human  hands  the  declaration 
and  carrying  out  of  the  Ban.  But  in  proportion  as  the  spirit 
of  sacrifice  dies  out,  in  that  proportion  also  does  the  zeal  to 
exercise  the  ban  cool  down.  Then  the  Almighty  Himself 
takes  the  sword  in  His  hand,  and  that  word  finds  confirma- 
tion,— "  the  Lord  is  angry  at  all  the  heathen,  and  fierce  against 
all  their  host.  He  will  drive  them  out,  and  deliver  them  over 
to  s]aughter."-f- 

What  is  the  relation  bettveen  sacrifice  and  _29r«2/er  ?  That 
there  must  be  a  close  connection  between  the  two,  is  evident 
from  the  fact  that,  as  a  general  rule,  in  the  First  Book  of 
Moses,  where  mention  is  made  of  the  erection  of  an  altar,  there 
also  we  read  of  the  calling  on  the  name  of  God.  Luther  has 
somewhat  inaccurately  rendered  the  Hebrew,  "  preach  of  the 
name  of  the  Lord:"    although  the  translation  conveys  in  the 


*  The  great  importance  attached, to  the  shedding  of  blood,  in  connection  with 
sacrifices,  is  quite  peculiar  to  Holy  Scripture.  It  corresponds  to  the  dcjith  of 
the  knowledge  of  sin,  which  is  the  privilege  of  the  Church  of  God.  A  funda- 
mental fault  of  the  well  known  Essay  by  de  Maistre,  on  Sacrifices,  in  the 
"Soirees  de  St.  Petersbourg,"  is  his  transference  of  the  value  attached  to  the 
blood  by  the  Israelites,  to  the  Heathens,  who  were  destitute  of  that  which  it 
presupposes. 

t  The  connection  and  contrast  between  Ban  and  Sacrifice  are  very  plainly 
seen  in  Isaiah  xxxiv.  5,  6,  where  the  Ban  is  represented  as  a  forced  sacrifice,  a 
sacrifice  which  God  takes  to  Himself,  or,  for  which  He  Himself  takes  those  who 
refuse  sacrifices.     "  The  Lord  hath  a  slain  sacrifice  in  Bozrah." 


S72  THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE. 

main  the  right  force  of  the  words.  For  the  public  and  solemn 
calling  Tipon  God,  the  presentation  of  thanks  for  the  deeds  by 
which  He  had  created  for  Himself  a  name,  was  at  the  same 
time  a  "  preaching  of  the  name  of  the  Lord."  At  all  the  great 
crises  of  their  life,  after  every  great  divine  deliverance  and 
blessing,  the  patriarchs  of  our  race  instituted  a  specially  solemn 
public  worship  of  God,  wherein  they  offered  sacrifices  and 
called  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord.  Abraham,  for  example,  did 
so  on  his  arrival  in  Canaan,  after  the  first  manifestation  of 
God  there  vouchsafed  him  ;  and  also  after  his  return  from 
Egypt. 

The  close  connection  subsisting  between  sacrifice  and  prayer, 
is  further  evident  from  such  passages  as  Hosea  xiv.  2,  where 
the  prophet  puts  into  the  mouth  of  apostate  Israel  the  words, 
"Take  away  all  iniquity,  and  receive  us  graciously,  so  will 
we  render  the  calves  of  our  lips."  Thanksgiving  appears  there 
as  the  soul  of  the  thank-ofierings.  So  also  in  Hebrews  xiii. 
15,  "  Let  us  then  offer  the  sacrifice  of  praise  to  God  con- 
tinually, that  is,  the  fruit  of  the  lips  which  confess  His  name." 
Substantially,  sacrifice  is  an  embodied  prayer.  In  accordance 
with  the  tendency  to  symbolism  characteristic  of  ancient 
times,  with  the  need  so  deeply  felt  by  men  in  an  age  when 
fancy  and  the  perceptions  of  sense  were  all  prevailing,  to  see 
in  an  outward  shape  that  which  inwardly  stirred  their  souls, 
prayer  took  to  itself  a  body  in  sacrifice.  This,  however,  does 
not  exhaust  its  significance.  Men  desired,  it  is  true,  to  see 
their  inward  feelings  outwardly  embodied  and  represented, 
but,  at  the  same  time,  another  impulse  also  was  at  work, 
namely,  the  wish  to  give  a  pledge  for  the  reality  and  earnest- 
ness of  what  was  inwardly  experienced,  and  thus  to  secure 
themselves  against  self-deception.  Samuel's  parents,  for  ex- 
ample, wished  to  devote  their  son  to  the  Lord.  That  was  an 
inward  act ;  but  the  prayer  in  which  they  presented  him  to 
the  Lord  did  not  fully  satisfy  the  impulse  of  their  heart. 
They  felt  compelled  to  give  a  proof  of  their  sincerity  by  the 
presentation  of  a  burnt-offering  of  three  bullocks.  Sixh  a 
disposition  to  furnish  a  tangible  pledge  of  sincerity  dwells  in 
us  as  well  as  in  the  men  of  Old  Testament  days,  only  the 
mode  of  expression  is  different.  For  example,  when  some 
great  mercy  has  been  vouchsafed  to  us,  the  mere   ottering  of 


THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE.  873 

thanks  to  God  in  prayer  docs  not  content  us.  We  feel  im- 
pelled to  prove  the  sincerity  of  our  thankfulness,  by  devoting 
to  the  Lord  a  portion  of  our  substance.  Such  is  the  origin  of 
very  many  charitable  foundations.  Finally,  the  sacrifices  of 
the  Old  Testament  economy  had  an  objective  as  well  as  an 
internal,  subjective  aspect.  Sin-offerings  were  not  merely  the 
embodied  expression  of  man's  need  of  atonement,  but  also 
themselves  the  divinely  ordained  means  of  atonement.  In 
the  case  also  of  the  other  sacrifices,  the  blood  served  to  atone 
for  the  soul.  Thus  we  see  that  prayer  runs  parallel  only  with 
the  inward  side  of  sacrifices  :  their  peculiar  objective  side 
found  its  fulfilment  in  Christ. 

The  saying  of  Lasaulx,  that,  "  One  may,  perhaps,  say,  that 
the  first  word  of  the  original  man  was  a  prayer,  and  the  first 
action  of  fallen  man  a  sacrifice,"  rests  on  a  wrong  view  of  the 
relation  between  sacrifice  and  prayer.  Its  foundation  is  the 
false  conception  of  the  essential  nature  of  sacrifice,  as  consist- 
ing in  atonement,  expiation.  This  is  undoubtedly  an  im- 
portant element  in  the  sacrifices  of  fallen  man.  Scarcely  a 
sacrificial  action  was  performed  under  the  Old  Covenant  in 
which  this  aspect  was  not  represented.  But  it  did  not  con- 
stitute the  very  essence  of  the  sacrifice.  Burnt-ofterings, 
peace-offerings,  and  meat-offerings,  might  have  been  brought 
by  man  even  before  the  fall,  as  certainly  as  it  was  his  duty 
to  devote  himself  to  God,  to  thank  Him  for  His  benefits,  and 
to  vow  to  walk  in  His  ways.  But  the  faU  has  modified  no 
less  the  character  of  prayer  than  that  of  sacrifice.  We  need 
only  consider  the  Psalms  of  David  to  be  convinced  that  the 
fall  has  had  the  deepest  influence  on  prayer.  To  its  account 
must  be  set  all  that  crying  out  of  the  depths,  all  such  mourn- 
ful expressions  as,  "  If  thou.  Lord,  shouldst  mark  iniquity,  0 
Lord,  who  can  stand  ?"  and  all  such  expressions  of  praise  as, 
"  Who  forgiveth  all  thy  sin,  who  healeth  all  thine  iniquities." 

What  is  the  relation  between  the  sacrifices  of  heathendom 
and  those  of  the  Old  Testament  ?  It  is  not  our  intention  to 
deny  that  here  and  there  heathendom  was  moved  and  stirred 
by  nobler  feelings ;  but  yet,  in  general,  the  sacrifice  of  Cain 
may  be  adduced  as  typical  of  the  sacrifices  of  the  heathen, 
whilst  those  of  the  Old  Testament  find  their  type  in  that  of 
AbeL     The  attempt  has  been  vainly  made  to  reduce  the  dif- 


g74  THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE. 

ferent  results  of  the  sacrifices  of  the  two  brothers  back  to  a 
difference  in  the  objects  or  matters  offered.  That  the  differ- 
ence lay  rather  in  the  disposition,  is  distinctly  intimated  in 
the  narrative  itself  For  instance,  this  is  suggested  by  the 
circumstance,  that  the  narrative  begins  with  the  p>^ii^8on  sacri- 
ficing, not  with  the  thing  sacrificed, —  "The  Lord  looked 
giaciously  on  A bel  and  his  sacrifice  ;  but  on  Cain  and  his 
sacrifice  He  did  not  look  gTaciously."  We  are  further  led  to 
the  same  point  by  the  words  of  the  Lord  spoken  to  Cain,  "  If 
thou  art  pious,  then  art  thou  approved  ;"  and  also,  by  the 
saying  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  that,  "  By  faith  Abel 
offered  unto  the  Lord  a  better  sacrifice  than  Cain."  Abel's 
sacrifice  was  a  self-sacrijice.  In  his  offering,  he  presented  to 
the  Lord  a  heart  fuU  of  faith,  and  love,  and  thankfulness. 
Cain's  sacrifice,  on  the  contrary,  was  a  kind  of  commutation — 
it  was  based  on  a  calculation  of  profit  and  loss — it  was  a 
selfish  investment.  His  heart  he  kept  back  for  liimself  and 
for  sin ;  but  he  believed  that  he  could  make  use  of  the  Lord 
in  his  tilling  of  the  soil,  he  considered  it  dangerous  to  be  on 
bad  terms  with  his  God,  and  therefore,  in  the  interest  of  his 
selfishness,  the  father  of  all  soulless  worship  so  far  overcame 
his  selfishness,  as  to  offer  to  his  Creator  a  small  portion  of  the 
fruits  of  the  earth  by  way  of  compensation.  As  with  Cain, 
so  also,  for  the  most  part,  with  the  heathen,  sacrifice  is  not  a 
child-like  form  of  the  worship  which  is  in  spirit  and  in  truth, 
but  its  very  opposite.  They  sacrifice  everything  but  them- 
selves. In  any  case,  however,  heathendom  is  greatly  to  be 
preferred  to  modern  unbelief,  with  its  utter  lack  of  the  spirit 
of  sacrifice.  The  heathen  was,  at  any  rate,  penetrated  by  the 
conviction  that  higher  powers  rule  this  earthly  life,  although 
he  never  got  further  than  the  efibrt  to  come  to  terms  of  com- 
promise with  those  powers.  If  things  went  well  with  him, 
his  payments  were  scanty ;  if  heavy  misfortunes  befel  him, 
he  decided  on  making  greater  sacrifices.  In  the  Tonga  Islands, 
when  any  one  is  sick,  all  the  members  of  the  family  cut  off 
a  joint  of  the  little  finger  as  a  sacrifice  to  their  God  ;  hence 
almost  everybody's  hands  are  found  to  be  mutilated.  In  cases 
of  dangerous  sickness  the  family  offers  up  a  child.*     Very 

*  Wuttke,  "  Geschichte  des  Heidenthums,"  TL.  i.  §  141. 


THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE.  375 

little  or  no  account  is  taken  of  the  state  of  the  heart  and 
mind  of  the  sacrificer  in  heathen  sacrifices.  One  thing  alone 
is  kept  in  view,  namely,  that  by  the  act  itself,  "  honour  is 
shown  to  the  gods,  their  power  is  recognized,  and  man's  feel- 
ing of  dependence  is  expressed  in  an  action."""'  Beyond  this 
stage  heathendom  is  incapable  of  passing.  Ere  other  sacri- 
fices could  be  claimed,  the  gods  themselves  must  undergo  a 
change.  They  must  no  longer  be  distinct  persons  with  pecu- 
liar personal  interests,  but  the  living  personal  idea  of  the 
righteous  and  the  good.  The  gods  of  the  heathen  are  not 
upright,  as  that  word  is  used  in  Scripture,  that  is,  they  are 
not  what  they  should  be, — they  are  not  the  living  moral 
order  of  the  world,  and  cannot  therefore  lay  the  claim,  "  O 
son,  give  me  thy  heart," — a  claim  which  has  no  meaning  or 
force,  save  as  coming  from  the  true  God.  Such  gods  must 
content  themselves  with  a  calculated  commutation,  beyond 
which  their  servants  will  never  go,  especially  as  they  them- 
selves never  do  any  deeds  of  love,  by  which  love  might  be 
enkindled  in  return. 

The  sacrifices  of  Holy  Scripture  have  an  entirely  different 
character.  The  God  of  Scripture,  is  from  the  very  commence- 
ment, Jehovah,  that  is,  true,  simple,  and  absolute  Being,  the 
original  Ground  of  all  things,  the  One  in  whom  we  live  and 
move  and  have  our  being.  God  being  such,  it  necessarily 
follows  that  man,  who  alone,  of  all  creation,  is  formed  in  the 
divine  image,  cannot  worship  Him  truly,  save  in  spirit.  All 
the  sacrifices  instituted  and  approved  by  the  Holy  Scriptures 
are  self-sacrifices.  The  nature  and  purport  of  the  sacrifices  of 
animals  are  transparently  clear.  Under  the  image  of  an 
animal,  man  himself  is  offered.  The  favourers  of  the  com- 
mutation view  of  sacrifice,  which  their  heathen  neighbours 
constantly  sought  to  import  amongst  the  Israelites,  are  pre- 
sented, at  the  veiy  threshold  of  revelation,  with  their  father, 
the  reprobate  Cain.  Abraham  received  the  command  to  offer 
up  his  son, — the  son  to  whom  his  whole  heart  clung.  Not 
oxen  and  sheep  for  their  own  sake — such  was  the  lesson 
loudly  taught  him  by  this  occun-ence — does  God  desire,  but 
the  heart  of  man  in  the  oxen  and  sheep.     All  the  sacrifices  of 

•  Nagelsbach,  "  Homcrische  Theologie,"  §  304, 


376  THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE. 

animals  Vere  intended  to  be  sacrifices  of  men.  "  I  will  not 
smell  the  savour  of  your  sweet  odours'"  (Leviticus  xxvi.  31), 
said  God,  through  Moses,  to  all  the  ungodly,  who  mean  to 
put  him  off  with  their  sacrifices  of  beasts.  "  Dost  thou 
think,"  says  the  prophet  (Micah  vi.  7,  8),  "  that  the  Lord  hath 
pleasure  in  many  thousands  of  rams,  or  in  ten  thousands  of 
rivers  of  oil  ?  or  shall  I  give  my  first-born  son  for  my  trans- 
gression, the  fruit  of  my  body  for  the  sin  of  my  soul  ?  It 
hath  been  declared  to  thee,  O  man,  what  is  good,  and  what 
the  Lord  requireth  of  thee,  namely,  to  keep  God's  word,  to 
exercise  love,  and  to  be  humble  before  thy  God."  That  is  the 
only  sacrifice  which  is  worthy  of  God  and  of  man  ;  and  the 
sacrifice  of  an  animal,  where  this  soul  is  lacking,  is  an  abomina- 
tion before  the  Lord.  "  I  will  praise  the  name  of  God  in 
song,"  says  the  Psalmist  (Psalm  Ixix.  31,  32),  "and  will  mag- 
nify Him  with  thanksgiving.  This  also  shall  please  the  Lord 
better  than  oxen  or  bullocks  with  horns  and  hoofs."  The 
predicates  here  given  to  the  bullocks  exhibit  to  us  the  true 
nature  of  animals,  and  teach  us  that  such  a  merely  material 
sacrifice*  cannot  possibly,  considered  in  itself,  be  an  object  of 
pleasure  to  God  who  is  spirit.  With  the  merely  external 
sacrifices,  which  are  not  required  by  the  law,  but  are  a  bad 
caricature,  the  work  of  the  natural  man,  the  fortieth  Psalm 
contrasts  obedience,  the  cheerful  observance  of  the  divine  com- 
mands, and  the  praise  which  proceeds  from  a  heart  full  of 
thankfulness  :  "  Slain-offerings  and  meat-offerings  please  thee 
not :  thou  desirest  neither  burnt-offerings  nor  sin-offerings. 
Then  said  I,  lo  I  come."  So  also  in  Psalm  1.,  the  true  and 
proper  aim  of  which  was  to  instruct  the  people  of  God  in  the 
nature  of  the  sacrifices  required  by  the  divine  law,  and  to 
meet  the  dangers  which  are  always  attendant  on  the  outward 
embodiment  of  religious  feelings,  merely  external  sacrifices  are 
rejected  :  "  Sacrifice  unto  God  praise,  and  thus  pay  thy  vows 
to  the  Most  High."  Vows  consisted,  for  the  most  part,  of 
thank-offerings.  Only  he  who  brought  the  substance  of  such 
vows,  that  is,  thanks,  could  be  said  really  to  have  paid  his  vows. 
The  choice  of  animals  for  sacrifice  directly  depended  on  the 
view  taken  by  the  Old  Testament  of  the  essential  nature  of 
sacrifice.  According  to  Leviticus  i.  2,  sacrifices  must  be  taken 
from  the  cattle.     If  the  universal  character  of  sacrifices  is  to 


THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE.  377 

be  vicarious,  if  in  them  man  offers  himself,  then  must  he  of 
necessity,  to  use  de  Maistre's  expression,  choose  the  most 
human  offerings,  that  is,  he  must  select  those  animals  which 
are  most  nearly  connected  with  men  ;  and  of  these  again,  such 
as  are  the  most  meek,  innocent,  pure,  and  valuable.  Within 
the  sacred  confines  of  Scripture  it  was  impossible  that  such  a 
sacrifice  should  be  thought  of,  as  that  of  the  lloman  Emperors, 
who  not  unfrequently  slaughtered,  for  their  hecatombs,  a  hun- 
dred lions  and  as  many  eagles.  As  a  matter  of  course,  also, 
swine  and  dogs  were  excluded.  According  to  Leviticus  1 
1 4-1 7,  birds  were  not  allowed  to  be  brought  as  burnt-offerings 
instead  of  beasts,  except  in  cases  of  poverty  :  and  then  only 
such  birds  as  turtle  doves,  which  were  tame  and  might  be 
considered  as  belonging  to  the  household. 

As  regards  the  classification  of  sacrifices,  they  may  be 
divided  into  those  whose  end  is  the  re-establishment  of  the 
state  of  grace  ;  and  those  which  were  offered  by  him  who  was 
in  the  state  of  grace.  The  first  class  consists  of  sin-offerings 
and  trespass-offerings :  the  second,  of  burnt-offerings  and  peace- 
offerings,  to  which  may  be  added  the  bloodless  offerings. 

Sin-offerings  owed  their  origin  to  the  time  of  Moses.  In 
the  Book  of  Genesis  we  find  only  burnt-offerings  and  slain- 
offerings.  Tlie  ground  of  this  difference  lies  in  the  childlike 
character  of  the  Patriarchal  Age.  Then,  the  consciousness  of 
sin  was  not  fully  developed.  Sin-offerings  were  as  yet  in- 
cluded and  involved  in  burnt-oflferings.  Even  in  the  time  of 
Moses  these  latter  still  bore  some  reference  to  the  conscious- 
ness of  guilt.  Indeed  when  the  entire  man  devoted  himself 
to  God  in  them,  the  fact  of  sin  could  not  be  left  out  of  sight. 
Now,  however,  the  consciousness  of  sin  had  become  so  strong, 
that  it  called  for  special  expression  and  embodiment.  The 
institution  of  special  sin-offerings  was  intimately  connected 
with  the  giving  of  the  law.  Witliout  the  law  sin  was  dead. 
But  sin  took  occasion  by  the  commandment  and  stiiTcd  aU 
kinds  of  desire.  Through  the  law  came  the  knowledge  of  sin. 
The  institution  of  sin-offerings  prevented  this  deeper  know- 
ledge of  sin  from  leading  to  despair,  and  impelled  men  to  unite 
themselves  so  much  the  more  closely,  to  God  who  is  merciful, 
gracious,  full  of  great  kindness,  and  rich  in  forgiveness.  They 
represent  therefore  a  progressive  step  in  the  development  of 


378  THE  SACKIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE. 

the  people  of  God.     There  is  only  much  love,  where  much  has 
been  forgiven. 

In  investigating  more  closely  the  import  and  force  of  the 
Mosaic  sin-offering,  the  inquiry  which  fii-st  presents  itself  is — 
"  Whether,  and  in  what  sense,  it  was  vicarious  or  substitu- 
tionary ?"  The  theology  of  the  Church  has  in  all  ages  assumed 
that  sacrifices  bore  a  substitutionary  character.  Where  it 
has  been  denied,  traces  may  invariably  be  detected  of  some 
sort  of  a  bias,  leading  to  the  denial.  From  the  laying  on  of 
the  hands  of  the  sacrificer,  to  which  some  have  attached  great 
importance,  when  considered  by  itself,  no  proof  of  the  vicarious 
nature  of  the  sin-offering  can  be  drawn.  Indeed,  the  circum- 
stance that  the  same  form  was  observed  in  all  sacrifices,  shows 
that,  in  general,  its  only  design  was  to  indicate  the  rapport 
existing  between  the  man  sacrificing  and  the  thing  sacrificed. 
From  the  nature  of  any  particular  sacrifice  in  question,  we 
must  form  our  judgment  as  to  the  more  precise  import  of  this 
act.  The  laying  on  of  hands  in  the  case  of  sin-offerings  did 
not  in  itself  mark  them  as  vicarious,  but  because  their  vicari- 
ous character  was  established  on  other  gi'ounds.  Amongst 
these  grounds  the  first  place  is  taken  by  the  name  of  the  sin- 
offering.  It  was  termed  nxDH,  "  Sin."  This  sacrifice  was  ac- 
cordingly looked  upon  as  the  embodiment  of  sin.  That  there 
was  such  a  transference,  is  further  confirmed  by  the  fact  that 
the  expression,  elsewhere  so  common,  "for  the  good  pleasure 
of  the  Lord,"  was  never  employed  in  connection  with  the  sin- 
offeiing.  It  is  of  significance,  too,  that  the  flesh  of  the  sin- 
ofiering,  in  cases  where  the  blood  thereof  did  not  come  into 
the  Holy  Place,  was  eaten  by  the  priests ;  and  that  when  the 
blood  did  come  into  the  Holy  Place,  as  in  the  case  of  sin- 
offerings  which  were  brought  to  make  atonement  for  the  whole 
people,  the  priests  included,  the  flesh  was  burnt  outside  the 
Holy  Place  and  the  Camp.  Both  these  considerations  lead  us 
to  conclude  that  the  impurity  of  the  sinner  passed  over  to  the 
sacrifice,  and  was,  as  it  were,  absorbed  by  it ;  which,  of  course, 
by  no  means  prevented  its  being,  in  another  aspect,  most 
sacred  or  holy.  For  the  impurity  attributed  to  the  sacrifice 
is  essentially  different  from  that  of  the  sinner.  The  eating  of 
the  flesh  of  the  sacrifice  by  the  priest  was  one  of  the  rites  of 
divine  service.     It  rested  on  the  supposition  that  the  impurity 


THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE.  379 

of  the  sinner  had,  as  it  were,  passed  over  to  the  sacrifice,  and 
on  the  idea,  that  in  order  to  its  complete  removal,  there  wjxs 
a  necessity  for  its  being  brought  into  a  closer  relation  to  the 
priesthood  instituted  by  God.  Through  this  closer  relation 
the  impurity  was  represented  as  consumed  by  the  holiness 
•with  which  the  order  of  the  priesthood  was  endowed,  and  the 
time  was  thus  pointed  to,  when  sacrifice  and  priest  should  be 
united  in  one  person,  when  Christ  should  be,  as  St.  Paulinus 
says,  "  the  sacrifice  of  His  Priesthood,  and  the  Priest  of  His 
sacrifice,"  (victima  sacerdotii  sui  et  sacerdos  suae  victimse.) 
This  view  of  the  act  we  meet  with  in  Levdticus  x.  1 7,  where 
Moses  says  to  Aaron,  "  wherefore  have  ye  not  eaten  the  sin- 
offering  in  the  holy  place,  seeing  it  is  most  holy,  and  it  is 
given  to  you  to  bear  the  iniquity  of  the  congregation,  to  make 
atonement  for  them  before  the  Lord?"  Evidence  to  the  same 
effect  also  is  furnished  by  the  circumstance,  that  it  was  or- 
dained that  those  sin-offerings  in  which  the  priests  themselves 
were  interested,  and  in  connection  with  which  consequently 
they  could  not  take  up  a  vicarious  position,  should  be  burnt 
outside  the  camp.  Removal  out  of  the  camp,  which  was  an 
image  of  the  Church,  is  always  in  the  Mosaic  law  a  sign  of 
impurity.  That  outside  the  camp  it  was  obligatory  to  choose 
a  clean  place,  was  in  order  to  do  justice  to  the  other  aspect  of 
the  sacrifice.  Imputed  sin  can  never  stand  quite  on  the  same 
footing  with  indwelling  sin.  Lastly,  in  favour  of  the  imputa/- 
tion  of  the  sin  of  the  offerer  to  the  offering,  we  may  refer  to 
the  relation  existing  between  the  Old  Testament  sacrifice  and 
the  death  of  Christ.  If  it  is  certain  that  Christ's  death  was 
vicarious,  and  that  this  its  character  is  clearly  set  forth  even  in 
the  Old  Testament  (see  Isaiah  liii.),  we  cannot  deny  the  same 
character  to  the  sacrifices  without  destroying  the  connection 
of  type  and  antitype. 

Sin-offerings  were  therefore  vicarious,  substitutionary :  but 
how  are  we  to  conceive  of  this  substitution  ?  It  is  clear 
enough  that,  in  themselves,  the  sacrifices  were  not  in  the  least 
fitted  to  effect  that  which  they  were  instituted  to  effect ;  "  for 
it  is  impossible  that  the  blood  of  bulls  or  of  goats  should  take 
away  sin"  (Hebrews  x.  4).  For  the  blood  of  the  guilty,  the 
ransom  must  be  the  blood  of  an  innocent,  sinless,  righteous, 
holy  one.     An  animal  sacrifice  may,  undoubtedly,  by  its  ex- 


380  THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE. 

ternal  faultlessness,  tyjpify  moral  faultlessness,  but  in  itself  it 
has  not  the  remotest  connection  with  the  sphere  in  which  the 
opposed  forces  of  sin  and  holiness  are  realities.  Moreover,  for 
sin,  which  has  its  roots  in  freedom,  the  only  true  substitution 
IS  a  voluntary  one  :  animal  sacrifices,  on  tlie  contrary,  are 
compulsory,  involuntary.  Lastly,  too,  there  ought  to  be  a  real 
connection  and  congruity  between  that  which  performs  the 
vicarious  office  and  him  for  whom  the  office  is  performed. 
Now,  there  is  no  such  connection  whatever  between  a  man 
and  an  animal.  We  are  distinctly  enough  taught,  that  sin-offer- 
ings were  not  of  necessity,  and  inherently  vicarious,  by  the  fact, 
that  under  certain  circumstances  something  else  might  supply 
their  place  ;  which  could  not  have  been  thought  of  if  the  blood 
had  had  in  itself  an  atoning  force.  According  to  Leviticus 
V.  ]  1-13,  a  poor  man  was  allowed  to  bring  flour  instead  of  the 
bloody  sin-offering,  and  it  served  precisely  the  same  purpose 
as  the  animal  sacrifice.  From  this  we  must  judge,  that  the 
sacrifice  of  an  animal  was  accepted  by  God  as  an  atonement 
for  sin,  only  because  of  some  rite  which  gave  the  act  a  mean- 
ing it  did  not  possess  in  itself  This  could  only  be  the  reference 
to  the  true  sin-offering,  foreshadowed  by  these  typical  suffer- 
ings. Only  by  degrees,  and  imperfectly,  did  the  Old  Testa- 
ment unveil  the  true  sin-offering  before  the  eyes  of  believers. 
Two  purposes  were  in  the  fii'st  instance  to  be  served  by  sacri- 
fice. The  first  was  to  sharpen  the  eye  for  the  discernment  of 
the  abominableness  and  damnableness  of  sin.  Every  one  who 
presented  a  sin-offering  confessed,  by  the  very  act,  that  he  had 
deserved  death  by  his  sin,  and  thus  contradicted,  most  strongly 
and  glaringly,  that  view  of  sin  as  a  bagatelle,  as  a  peccadillo, 
as  a  trifling  thing,  to  which  the  natural  man  is  so  strongly 
inclined,  and  which  the  Mosaic  law  constantly  and  industri- 
ously aimed  to  uproot.  Sin-offerings  served  to  make  remem- 
brance of  sins  (Hebrews  x.  8).  The  second  purpose  served  by 
sin-offerings  was  to  naturalize  the  idea  of  substitution  in  the 
Church  or  Congregation  of  God.  "  The  idea,"  says  Hirscher, 
in  his  "  Moral,"  "  carried  out  in  the  Mosaic  Cultus,  that  no 
guilt  can  be  left  as  it  is,  that  none  is  simply,  and  without  fur- 
ther ado,  forgiven,  but  requires  in  every  case  a  fixed  and  de- 
finite atonement,  is  a  very  remarkable  one."  By  such  means, 
not  only  was  the  people  of  God  accustomed  to  regard  sin  as  a 


THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE.  SSI 

most  serious  thing,  and  prevented  from  frivolously  forgetting 
it,  but  also  the  so'.  1  was  prepared  in  its  midst  for  the  reception 
of  the  true  mediation,  so  soon  as,  in  the  course  of  history,  it 
had  been  accomplished.  The  hearts  of  Jews  beat  in  anticipar- 
tion  thereof  "  Moses,"  said  oin-  Lord,  "  wrote  of  Me  :  refer- 
ring not  merely  to  the  direct  Messianic  proclamations  contained 
in  the  books  of  Moses,  but  still  more  to  that  which  the  law 
prescribed  in  respect  of  sin-offerings.  He,  of  course,  in  Old 
Testament  times,  who  was  not  satisfied  with  a  simple  faith  in 
the  Divine  promise,  that  "  this  blood  shall  atone  for  your 
souls  ;"  who  marked  more  nari'owly  the  essential  insufficiency 
of  the  means  of  atonement,  which  stood  in  the  foreground, 
must  necessarity,  so  long  as  the  background  remained  unillu- 
inined,  fall  into  sharp  conflicts.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  in 
this  respect  the  believers  in  the  Old  Testament  were  much  less 
favoured  than  we  :  they  were  in  every  respect  much  more 
completely  shuli  up  to  blind  faith.  But,  notwithstanding, 
even  in  the  Old  Testament,  support  and  substance  were  given 
to  their  presentiments  of  that  true  Mediator,  who  lay  concealed 
behind  the  typical  offerings,  by  Divine  utterances,  such  as 
those  contained  in  the  53d  chapter  of  Isaiah, — a  chapter 
which,  in  the  truest  sense,  forms  the  bridge  between  the  typi- 
cal and  antitypical  sin-offering.  How  deeply  impressed  on  the 
minds  was  that  prophecy  concerning  the  servant  of  God,  who 
should  give  his  life  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  who  should  bear  our 
sickness,  and  carry  our  sorrows,  who  should  be  wounded  for 
our  transgression,  and  bruised  for  our  iniquities,  on  whom  the 
chastisement  of  our  peace  would  lie,  and  by  whose  wounds  we 
should  be  healed,  is  clear  from  the  fact,  that  the  idea  of  the 
Messiah  as  the  tnie  sin-offering,  as  the  Lamb  of  God  which 
taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world,  may  be  found  in  a  fully 
developed  shape  in  the  nobler  forms  of  later  Judaism. 

The  question  that  next  arises  is, — For  tvhat  sins  were  sin- 
offerhujs  jpresented?  Numbers  xv.  27-31  affords  us  a  firm 
foundation  for  the  answering  of  this  question.  In  this  pas- 
sage, which  is  the  basis  of  the  New  Testament  doctrine  of  the 
sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  a  distinction  is  drawn  between 
sins  of  weakness  and  such  sins  as  are  committed  with  a  high 
hand  ;  that  is,  openly,  freely,  boldly.  These  latter  sins  are 
described  in  the  words,    "  Because  he  hath  blasphemed  the 


382  THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE. 

Lord,  liath  despised  the  word  of  the  Lord,  and  set  at  nought 
Eis  commands."  By  way  of  illustration,  mention  is  made 
immediately  afterwards  of  the  case  of  the  man  who  gathered 
wood  on  the  Sabbath,  not  from  necessity,  but  really  and  truly 
in  order  to  set  God  at  defiance,  and  to  make  a  mock  of  His 
holy  ordinances.  Sins  of  weakness  are  those  for  which  the 
Psalmist  prays  to  be  forgiven,  when  he  says,  "Who  can  un- 
derstand his  errors  ?  Cleanse  thou  me  from  secret  faults," 
making  allusion  to  the  desperate  and  masterly  cunning  which 
enables  sin  to  creep  in  unperceived,  to  disguise  itself,  to  put 
on  the  appearance  of  good,  and  to  entangle  men  in  its  snares, 
despite  their  most  honest  endeavours  to  escape.  The  petition 
which  follows  immediately  after,  on  the  contrary, — "  Preserve 
thy  servant  from  the  proud;  let  them  not  have  dominion  over 
me," — refers  to  sinning  with  a  high  hand.  Wilful  sins  are 
here  personified  as  proud  tyrants,  who  would  be  only  too  glad 
to  bring  the  servant  of  God  once  again  under  their  command. 
In  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  petition,  "  forgive  us  our  sins,"  refers 
to  sins  of  weakness :  wilful  sins,  on  the  contrary,  are  the 
object  of  the  petition,  "  lead  us  not  into  temptation,  but  deliver 
us  from  the  evil,"  from  the  Devil,  who  is  ever  seeking  to  seduce 
us  into  lifting  ourselves  up  with  a  high  hand  against  the  Lord 
of  our  life. 

According  to  the  declaration  of  Moses  just  quoted  from  the 
Book  of  Numbers,  sins  of  weakness  can  be  atoned  for  by  sac- 
rifices, and  must  be  thus  atoned  for,  if  they  are  to  be  forgiven. 
Intentional  sins,  on  the  contrary,  cannot  be  expiated  by  sacri- 
fices :  they  are  punished  with  destruction — "  he  that  despiseth 
the  word  of  the  Lord,  that  soul  shall  be  utterly  cut  off!"  Tliis 
accords  perfectly  with  what  is  said  by  the  author  of  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews, — "  for  if  we  sin  wilfully  after  that  we  have 
received  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  there  remaineth  no  more 
sacrifice  for  sin."  The  general  principle,  therefore,  of  the  Old 
Testament  is,  that  the  sphere  of  the  sin-offering  is  exactly  co- 
extensive with  that  of  forgiveness.  Practically,  however,  thei-e 
was  a  difference  between  the  two — in  deciding  which  were 
sins  of  weakness,  and  which  sins  of  purpose,  the  law  was 
obliged  to  confine  itself  to  the  objective  matter  of  fact,  because 
of  the  shortsightedness  of  those  who  were  called  to  adminis- 
trate it.     Hence  it  came  to  pass,  that  in  practice  the  sphere 


THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE.  383 

of  forgiveness  was  i(jldcr  than  that  of  sin-offerings.  Take  for 
example  David's  sin  with  Batlisheba.  Friglitful  though  it  was, 
it  must  still  be  characterised  as,  in  the  main,  a  sin  of  weak- 
ness, when  we  take  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case  into  con- 
sideration. As  such  it  did  not  involve  total  apostacy,  though 
its  hardening  influence  might,  nay  must,  have  brought  about 
such  a  result  by  degrees,  had  not  mercy  intervened.  The  law, 
with  its  fixed  objective  standard,  was  obliged  to  reckon  David's 
adultery  amongst  the  sins  of  intention  :  consequently,  although 
he  himself  obtained  forgiveness,  no  sin-offering  could  be  pre- 
sented on  behalf  of  his  sin.  Sin-offerings  appertained  only  to 
those  sins  which  were  not  appointed  to  be  punished  with  utter 
destruction.  Tliis  difference  in  practice,  did  not,  however,  at 
all  affect  the  principle.  As  far  as  that  is  concerned,  forgiveness 
and  sacrifice  are  inseparably  connected,  not  only  under  the  Old, 
but  also  still  under  the  New  Covenant. 

Kurtz,  in  his  work  on  the  Mosaic  Sacrifices,  has  wi'ongly 
put  "unintentional  sins,  sins  of  ignorance,"  in  the  place  of, 
"  sins  of  weakness."  He  also  erroneously  maintains  that  sin- 
offerings  availed  only  for  individual  sins,  for  single  definite 
transgressions,  not  for  sinfulness  in  general.  That  sin-offerings 
might  be  brought  by  eveiy  one  who  carried  about  with  him, 
at  all,  a  consciousness  of  sin,  who  felt  himself  troubled,  his 
heart  burdened,  by  sin,  is  evident,  firstly,  from  the  fact  that 
such  sacrifices  Avere  presented  for  the  entire  congregation  at 
large ;  but,  especially,  from  the  existence  of  the  great  day  of 
atonement,  on  which,  once  every  year,  atonement  was  made 
for  the  holy  place,  by  means  of  a  sin-offering,  "  from  the  im- 
purity of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  from  their  transgression 
in  all  their  sins,"  (Leviticus  xvi.  1 G),  and  concerning  which 
day,  we  read  in  verse  30,  "On  this  day,  shall  atonement  be 
made  for  you,  that  ye  may  be  cleansed  from  all  your  sins  be- 
fore the  Lord."  Sin-offerings  usually  originated  in,  and  were 
suggested  by,  sufferings,  which  were  always  regarded  as  a 
punishment  from  God,  and  as  therefore  containing  a  summons 
to  men  to  propitiate  the  divine  wrath.  At  this  same  time 
they  did  not  consider  the  sufferings  to  be  a  visitation  of  this 
or  that  particular  offence,  but  an  indictment  of  corrupt  human 
nature  in  general,  and  of  its  manifold  productions,  whatever 
they  might  be.     "  My  sins  have  laid  hold  upon  me,"  says  the 


384!  THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE. 

Psalmist,  "  they  are  more  than  the  hairs  of  mine  head,"  (Psalm 
xl.  1 3).  Bahr's  assertion,  (see  his  "  Symbolik  des  Mosaischen 
Cultus,")  that  sin-ofFerings  related  only  to  the  transgi'essions 
of  the  ceremonial  law,  gives  a  totally  erroneous  impression.  It 
is  as  ninch  as  to  say,  that  under  the  Old  Covenant  there  was 
no  forgiveness  except  for  such  transgi-essions  ;  for  the  sphere 
of  forgiveness  is  co-extensive  with  that  of  sacrifice.  Such  a 
separation  between  the  moral  and  the  ceremonial  law  was  quite 
foreign  to  the  spirit  of  the  Old  Testament :  and  it  can  only 
be  upheld  with  any  appearance  of  truth  by  those  who  utterly 
misconceive  the  symbolical  character  of  the  ceremonial  law. 
Besides,  we  may  adduce  against  such  an  assertion,  the  clearest 
cases — such,  for  example,  as  those  in  Leviticus  v.,  where  we 
are  given  to  understand  that  sin-ofFerings  must  be  brought 
for  injuries  done  to  the  property  of  the  Lord,  or  of  one's 
neighbour. 

Among  the  rites  observed  in  connection  with  sin-offerings, 
sprinkling  with  blood  occupies  a  particularly  prominent  place. 
It  was  a  symbolical  representation  of  the  reconciliation  effected 
by  the  shedding  of  the  blood  of  the  sacrifice.  This  symbolical 
sprinkling,  which  was  first  truly  realised  and  fulfilled  in  that 
sprinkling  of  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  (1  Peter  i.  1,  2  ;  He- 
brews xii.  24),  which,  according  to  the  proclamation  of  Isaiah 
(chap.  lii.  15),  should  sprinkle  many  Gentiles,  occurred  also  in 
connection  with  other  sacrifices,  because  they  also  had  a  pro- 
pitiatory significance.  In  these  instances,  however,  the  propi- 
tiatory aspect  not  being  the  principal  one,  the  sprinkling  of 
blood  was  a  thing  of  minor  impoi-tance.  Whereas,  in  this 
latter  case,  the  blood  was  only  sprinkled  round  about  on  the 
altar  of  burnt-offering  ;  in  the  first  mentioned  case  the  horns 
of  the  altar,  in  which  the  entire  significance  of  the  altar  cul- 
minated, were  specially  sprinkled  :  and  the  horns  were,  in  a 
manner,  the  head  of  the  altar.  In  many  instances,  the  blood 
was  brought  into  the  holy  place  itself,  and  was  sprinkled  on 
the  horns  of  the  altar  of  incense,  against  the  vail  of  the  ark 
of  the  covenant,  or  even  directly  on  the  ark  of  the  covenant 
itself  in  the  holy  of  holies.  Then  the  act  was  repeated  seven 
times. 

According  to  Leviticus  v.  11,  sin-offerings  were  never 
allowed  to   be  conjoined  with   meat-ofi'erings.     These   latter 


THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURES.  385 

were  always  brouglit  in  connection  with  burnt-offerings  and 
peace-offerings.  The  reason  lies  on  the  very  surface,  when  we 
consider  the  purport  of  the  meat-offerings.  They  symbolize 
good  works  ;  and  good  works  presuppose  not  only  the  finished 
propitiation,  but  also  that  consecration  of  the  whole  person 
signified  by  the  burnt-offerings.  Good  works  can  only  be 
performed  by  him  who  is  justified,  and  who  is  in  the  state  of 
sanctification.  It  is  entirely  a  fancy  of  the  corrupt  reason  of 
the  natural  man,  that  a  beginning  may  at  once  be  made  with 
meat-oftering.  To  such  foolish  dreams  of  virtue  the  gravest 
opposition  is  presented  by  the  word  of  God.  "  Can  a  man 
gather  grapes  from  thorns,  or  figs  from  thistles  ?  A  corrupt 
tree  cannot  bring  forth  good  iruits."  "  He  shall  put  no  oil 
thereon,  neither  any  frankincense,  for  it  is  a  sin-offering,"  We 
read  further  in  Leviticus  v.  11.  Why  no  oil,  we  learn  from 
Psalm  li.  1  3,  where  David,  after  his  grievous  fall  into  sin,  prays, 
"  Take  not  thy  Holy  Spirit  from  me,"  for  he  knew  to  his  sor- 
row that  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  whom  he  had  gi-eatly  giieved, 
had  already  almost  utterly  departed  from  him.  In  the  symbo- 
lical langTiagc  of  Scripture  oil  constantly  stands  for  Spirit.  We 
are  called  Christians,  Anointed,  as  those  who  are  in  the  Spirit. 
Sin  and  Spirit  are  mutually  exclusive  of  each  other.  Before 
the  Spirit  can  enter,  sin  must  be  destroyed  by  the  blood  of 
atonement.  The  spirit  which  can  co-exist  with  sin,  is  not  the 
Holy  Spirit — it  is  the  spirit  of  the  world,  the  spirit  from  the 
abyss,  which  in  this  generation  carries  on  its  work  in  the 
children  of  unbelief,  in  the  brethren  of  the  Iree  spirit.  Why 
no  frankincense,  we  are  taught  by  John,  when  he  says,  "  We 
know  that  God  heareth  not  sinners,  but  if  any  man  feareth 
God  and  doeth  his  will,  him  He  heareth,"  (John  ix.  31).  In- 
cense is  everywhere  the  symbol  of  prayer.  The  sinner  cannot 
pray,  before  the  hands  stained  with  blood  and  the  fingers  with 
faults,  are  cleansed  in  the  living  water  of  forgiveness :  which 
forgiveness  is  only  possible  on  the  ground  of  an  atonement  by 
blood,  (Isaiah  i.  1  5  ;  lix.  2,  3). 

In  conjunction  with  sin-offerings  the  law  makes  mention 
also  of  trespass-offerings.  These,  however,  occupy  only  a 
subordinate  position,  and  are  only  prescribed  for  a  limited 
number  of  cases.  The  word  employed  to  designate  this  spe- 
cies of  sacrifice,   means  strictly,   "  restitution,"   "  recompcnce." 


386  THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE. 

It  is  used  in  Numbers  v.  5  fF,  of  that  which  any  one  may  have 
unrighteously  taken  away  from  another,  and  which  he  is  under 
obligation  to  replace,  to  restore.  The  sinner  ought  to  be  ani- 
mated not  only  by  the  desire  to  obtain  forgiveness  from  God, 
through  the  expiation  of  his  sin — a  desire  which  was  met  and 
satisfied  by  sin-offerings — but  also  by  the  hearty  wish,  as  far 
as  possible,  to  make  amends  for  his  offence.  This  latter  wish 
is  the  universal  sign  of  true  and  genuine  sorrow  and  repent- 
ance. So  far  as  the  sin  relates  to  God, — and  the  sacrifice  has 
to  do  with  it  only  so  far  as  it  does  concern  God, — so  far  is  it 
impossible  for  this  wish  to  find  real  satisfaction.  Still,  a  sym- 
bolical representation  was  assigned  it  in  the  Mosaic  Cultus,  for 
the  pui^ose  of  stirring  up  drowsy  consciences,  and  of  giving 
calm  to  anxious  ones,  which  lay  hold  specially  on  such  a  point 
as  this.  The  sin  was  submitted  to  a  valuation,  and  by  means 
of  the  sacrifice,  a  compensation  or  recompence  was  brought, 
having  ideally  the  same  worth  as  the  robbery  which  had  been 
committed  on  God  : — and,  be  it  observed,  every  sin,  even  those 
sins  which  are  primarily  committed  against  our  neighbour, 
(Psalm  li.  6),  is  in  one  aspect  a  robbery  of  God.  But  as  the 
object  was  principally  to  give  outward  representation  to  an 
idea,  to  naturahze  in  the  Church  the  view  of  sin  as  a  robbery 
of  God,  the  trespass-offering  and  the  recompence- offering  were 
expressly  prescribed  only  for  a  limited  number  of  cases — such, 
namely,  as  specially  awakened  the  desire  to  offer  a  compensa- 
tion. Of  this  nature  were  actual  breaches  of  trust  in  connec- 
tion with  the  property  of  the  Lord  or  of  a  fellow-man.  Then, 
the  inevitable  influence  of  the  material  recompence  prescribed 
along  with  the  sacrifice,  was  to  give  special  liveliness  to  the 
wish  to  come  to  terms  with  God  even  in  the  higher  aspect. 
Trespass-offerings  were,  however,  not  confined  to  thesp  cases : 
free  play  was  rather  allowed  to  the  troubled  conscience  in 
other  circumstances  of  this  nature.  The  limits  of  the  com- 
mand were  not  coincident  with  those  of  permission. 

The  sin-offerings  brought  by  individuals  through  the  entire 
year,  accordmg  to  their  needs,  and  for  the  easing  of  the  bur- 
dened conscience,  may  be  grouped  around  two  central  points  ; 
namely,  around  the  two  festivals  celebrated  by  the  Church  at 
large  every  year.  One  of  these  was  the  great  day  of  atone- 
ment, on  wliich  the  High  Priest  went,  once  a  year,  into  the 


THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE,  387 

Holy  of  Holies,  not  without  blood,  which  he  offered,  first  for 
himself,  and  then  for  the  ignorance  of  the  people  (Hebrews 
ix.  7),  namely,  for  that  great  mass  of  unrecognised  sins,  whose 
forgiveness  had  not  been  realized  by  the  presentation  of  special 
sin-offerings.  This  gi-eat  day  of  atonement  con-esponds  pretty 
nearly  to  the  day  of  penitence,  observed  in  the  Lutheran 
Church.  The  true  root  of  all  presentations  of  sin-offerings 
was  the  Passover,  to  which  in  the  main,  the  Good  Friday  of 
the  Church  of  the  New  Covenant  corresponds.  That  the 
Passover  was  a  sin-offering  is  evident,  even  from  the  name. 
The  word  signifies  stiictly,  "deliverance,"*  and  then  "  sacrifice 
of  deliverance,"  or  "  sacrifice  of  atonement."  But  we  learn  the 
character  of  the  Passover  as  a  sin-offering  still  more  clearly 
from  the  account  of  its  first  institution.  When  it  was  ap- 
pointed that  all  the  first-born  in  the  land  of  Egypt  should  die, 
the  destroying  angel — that  is,  the*  angel  of  the  Lord,  in  His 
revenging  and  punishing  character- — spared  all  those  houses 
which  he  found  sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  the  paschal  lamb, 
in  sign  of  the  expiation  of  sin  effected  by  it.  He  who  had 
this  token  might  be  sure  of  being  spared  and  delivered  (Exo- 
dus xii.  23).  His  sins  were  laid,  as  it  were,  on  the  lamb,  the 
type  of  innocence.  He  who  slaughtered  the  lamb  confessed, 
in  a  symbolical  languiige,  that  he  also,  no  less  than  the  Egyp- 
tians, the  children  of  this  world,  had  deserved  to  be  an  object 
of  the  Divine  wrath : — he  declared  that  he  could  not  claim 
deliverance  on  the  ground  of  his  own  worth,  or  of  any  other 
title,  but  that  he  expected  it  from  the  grace  of  God  alone. 
According  to  the  Divine  promise,  to  accept  the  blood  of  the 
innocent  lamb  in  place  of  the  blood  of  the  sinner,  who  recog- 
nised and  felt  himself  to  be  such,  those  who  made  this  confession 
received  the  remission  of  the  punishment  of  their  sins.  The 
principle  was  thus  laid  down  for  all  ages  of  the  Church,  that 
that  which  distinguishes  the  Church  from  tlie  world  is  the 
blood  of  atonement.  Nor  was  the  festival  of  Passover,  as 
celebrated  in  later  times,  a  mere  commemorative  festival,  as  is 
clear  from  the  continual  slaughter  of  lambs  for  sacrifices. 
Wherever  there  is  a  sacrifice  instituted  by  God,  we  may  be 

*  The  verb  signified  originally  "  to  loosen"  (so,  in  the  Arabic,  from  -which  'a 
derived,  the  Hebrew  word  flDS,  "  one  who  limps,"  or  strictly,  "  one  who  is  un- 
loosed  untied"),  then  "  to  deliver." 


■888  THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE. 

certain  that,  provided  it  is  brought  in  faith,  there  is  a  repeti- 
tion of  the  first  benefit,  which  is  distinguished  from  the  sub- 
sequent ones  only  by  its  forming  the  commencement  of  a  long 
series.  The  paschal  lamb  was  the  basis  and  root  of  the  entire 
system  of  sacrifices  :  only  as  connected  with  it  had  the  remain- 
ing sin-offerings  value  and  significance  ;  without  it  they  were 
but  as  disjointed  members.  It  was  the  true  and  proper  co- 
venant-sacrifice— the  sacrifice  which  represented  in  its  highest 
form  the  distinction  between  the  world,  without  G  d,  and  the 
people  of  God,  reconciled  unto  God. 

What  distinguished  the  paschal  sacrifice  from  all  other  sin- 
offerings  was,  that  a  communion  was  connected  with  it — that 
the  lamb  was  not  merely  a  sacrifice,  but  at  the  same  time  also 
a  sacrament.  This  is  the  explanation  of  the  unimportant  dif- 
ferences between  it  and  the  sacrifices  of  atonement,  especially 
of  the  peculiarity  that  it  Was  not  entirely  burnt,  but  eaten, — • 
a  circumstance  which  has  frequently  been  adduced  to  show 
that  it  belonged  to  the  class  of  peace-offerings,  with  which  also 
a  communion  was  connected.  With  these,  however,  the  pas- 
chal sacrifice  has,  strictly  considered,  nothing  in  common.  It 
is  impossible  that  an  internal  connection  should  be  supposed 
to  exist  between  them,  except  as  the  result  of  adopting  the 
utterly  false  notion,  that  the  paschal  sacrifice  had  reference  to 
the  leading  of  the  children  of  Israel  out  of  Eg3q:)t :  whereas  it 
referred  solely  to  the  sparing  of  Israel's  first-born  in  the  judg- 
ment with  which  the  first-born  in  Egypt  w^as  visited.  The 
only  resemblance  between  the  paschal  lamb  and  the  peace- 
oficrings  is  one  of  form  : — for  this  reason  it  is  never  designated 
by  the  characteristic  name  of  this  latter  class  of  sacrifices,  it  is 
never  styled  a  peace-offering.  It  might  be  included  among 
the  slain-sacrijices  (Exodus  xii.  27,  xxiii.  18),  without  deny- 
ing its  essential  agi-eement  with  sin-offerings.  This  name  re- 
lates merely  to  the  form  of  the  peace-ofierings,  to  the  circum- 
stance, namely,  that  those  who  presented  them  received  a  por- 
tion of  them.  This  was  a  feature  common  to  them  with  the 
paschal  lamb. 

The  significance  of  the  Passover  as  a  sacrament,  as  a  type 
of  the  Eucharist,  is  rooted  in  the  fact,  that  it  was  eaten  by 
those  on  whose  behalf  it  was  offered  as  a  sacrifice.  The  pre- 
sentation  thereof   as   a    sacrifice    symbolized    the    atonement 


THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTUllE.  3S9 

accomplished  by  the  substitution  ;  and  so  the  eating  of  the 
lamb  signified  the  inward  living  appropriation  of  the  atone- 
ment, its  becoming,  as  it  were,  a  part  of  the  flesh  and  blood. 
Through  the  sacrifice  the  blessings  were  gained,  through  the 
eating  they  were  received.  "  The  sacrament  is  a  gift  be- 
stowed on  us  by  God :  a  sacrifice,  on  the  contrary,  is  a  gift 
wliich  we  bring  to  God.  The  former  descends  from  God  to 
us :  the  latter  rises  from  us  to  God." 

It  is  a  characteristic  fact,  that  never  more  than  one  single 
animal  could  be  presented  as  a  sin-offering.  This  shows  that 
the  objective  element  was  the  predominant  one  in  connection 
therewith — that  such  offerings  were  mainly  regarded  as  the 
means  of  atonement  instituted  by  God.  In  the  case  of  sacri- 
fices of  a  predominantly  inward  subjective  character,  it  was 
left  to  the  will  and  pleasure  of  him  who  offered  the  sacrifice, 
how  many  animals  he  brought.  No  limits  were  set  to  the 
inward  impulse.  Every  presentation  of  a  sin-offering  was 
obliged  to  be  preceded  by  an  open  confession  of  the  sin  which 
was  to  be  expiated  (Leviticus  v.  5,  Numbers  v.  7).  For  dumb 
sinners  there  was  no  atonement  and  no  forgiveness  : — as  David 
says,  "  I  said  I  will  confess  my  transgression  to  the  Lord. 
Then  forgavest  Thou  me  the  iniquity  of  my  sin"  (Psalm 
xxxii.  5). 

How  are  the  sin-offerings  of  the  Old  Testament  related  to 
the  Church  of  the  Neio  Covenant?  ^Vliat  verification  do  the 
long  and  detailed  directions  concerning  them  give  of  the 
saying  of  St.  Paul,  that  "  all  Scripture  given  by  inspiration  of 
God  is  profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for 
instruction  in  righteousness?" 

We  have  already  remarked,  that  all  the  sin-offerings  of  the 
Old  Testament  point  to  and  typify  Christ,  the  true  sin-offering, 
and  that  what  is  prescribed  by  the  Old  Testament  in  reference 
to  the  sin-offering  was  first  fulfilled  in  Christ  ;  and  so  long  as 
this  relation  between  the  two  is  unrecognised,  so  long  must 
sin-offerings  be  regarded  as  a  mere  Jewish  antiquity.  The 
New  Testament  calls  attention  repeatedly,  and  very  distinctly, 
to  this  connection.  John  the  Baptist,  when  he  saw  Jesus 
coming  to  him,  said,  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  world"  (John  i.  29).  The  Saviour  Him- 
self says,  that  He  gives  His  life  a  ransom  for  many  (Matthew 


390  THE  SACKIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE. 

XX.  28).'  Alluding  to  Himself  as  the  true  paschal  lamb,  He 
spoke  of  His  body  wliich  He  should  give  for  us,  of  His  blood 
which  should  be  shed  for  us,  for  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  St. 
Peter  describes  Christ  as  the  reality  foreshadowed  by  the  Old 
Testament  sin-offerings,  and  especially  by  the  paschal  lamb, 
when  he  says  that  we  are  bought  with  the  precious  blood  of 
Christ,  as  of  an  innocent  and  spotless  lamb.  To  the  lamb 
which  was  slain  John  directs  our  attention  ever  afresh  in  his 
Apocalypse.  St.  Paul  says,  in  1  Corinthians  v.  7,  "  We  also 
have  a  paschal  lamb,  which  is  Christ  sacrificed  for  us."  But 
the  proper  New  Testament  key  to  the  understanding  of  sin- 
offerings  is  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  which,  especially  in 
chap.  X.,  describes  to  us  the  excellence  of  the  atoning  sacrifice 
of  the  Lord,  as  the  fulfilment  and  completion  of  all  Old  Tes- 
tament sacrifices. 

Not  only,  however,  by  words  does  the  New  Testament  tes- 
tify to  the  connection  between  Old  Testament  sin-offerings  and 
the  death  of  Christ,  but  also  by  facts.  When  the  Saviour 
describes  it  as  a  matter  of  thorough  necessity,  that  precisely 
at  the  Passover  He  should  give  up  His  life  a  ransom  for  many ; 
that  He  should  make  his  entrance  into  Jerusalem  on  the  very 
same  day  on  which  the  law  of  Moses  appointed  that  the  paschal 
lamb  should  be  selected  and  separated ;  that  He  should  institute 
the  Eucharist  at  the  time  when  the  paschal  lamb  was  eaten — • 
He  declares  in  reality,  though  not  in  form,  not  only  tliat  there 
is  an  essential  connection  in  general  between  Himself  and  the 
paschal  lamb,  around  which,  as  a  centre,  were  grouped  all  the 
other  Old  Testament  sin-offerings,  but  also  that  a  knowledge 
of  this  relation  is  of  great  consequence,  and  ought  to  be  the 
possession  of  his  Church. 

Regarding  all  that  is  written  concerning  the  sin-offerings  of 
the  Old  Testament  in  this  light,  we  shall  be  in  a  high  degree 
affected  and  benefited  thereby.  We  shall  be  penetrated  by  a 
conviction  that  sin  may  not  be  treated  lightly ;  we  shall  feel 
that  we  cannot  help  ourselves*  to  the  forgiveness  of  sins  as 
we  like  ;  that,  according  to  God's  eternal  order,  there  is  no 
forgiveness  without  blood  ;  that  it  is  a  crime  to  think  of  pre- 

*  Harms'  twenty-first  Thesis  runs  as  follows: — "  The  forgiveness  of  sin  did 
cost  money  in  the  .sixteenth  century  ;  but  in  the  nineteenth  one  gets  it  for  no- 
thing, for  one  may  help  oneself  to  it." 


THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE,  391 

senting  ourselves  before  the  holy  God  and  His  strict  judgment- 
seat  with  other  pretended  offerings  ;  that  the  blood  of  atone- 
ment is  the  real  mark  of  distinction  between  the  world  and 
the  people  of  God ;  and  finally,  that  all  separations  from  the 
world  which  are  not  rooted  in  this  blood  of  atonement,  must 
come  to  a  miserable  end.  A  consideration  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment sin-offering  will  force  us  nearer  and  nearer  to  Christ  and 
His  cross,  and  bring  us  into  more  intimate  union  with  Him 
who  loved  us,  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  with  His  own 
blood. 

Substantially  we  present  our  New  Testament  sin-offering 
when  we  sing,  in  the  public  worship  of  God,  the  praises  of 
the  spotless  Lamb  of  God,  slain  for  our  redemption.  But  it 
were  to  be  desired  that  the  idea  of  sacrifice  should  be  more 
distinctly  expressed  in  our  Cultus  than  it  is.  Christ  has,  it 
is  true,  "  by  His  one  offering,  perfected  for  ever  them  who  are 
sanctified"  (Hebrews  x.  14).  "He  appeared  once  in  the  end 
of  the  world  to  put  away  sin  by  His  sacrifice"  (Hebrews  ix. 
26).  The  Romish  sacrifice  of  the  mass,  even  on  the  view  of 
it  given  by  Veith  (see  his  work,  "  Ueber  das  Messopfer"),  as 
"  an  imitative  representation  of  the  sacrificial  death  of  Christ 
on  the  cross,"  does  not  meet  the  want.  It  is  open  to  sus- 
picion, both  as  leading  to  a  confusion  of  the  two  states  of 
Christ,  namely,  of  the  state  of  humiliation  and  of  that  of 
exaltation,  and  as  too  easily  giving  occasion  and  support  to 
views  which  clash  with  the  complete  sufficiency  of  Christ's 
one  sacrifice  on  the  cross.  Our  presentation  of  that  one  sacri- 
fice of  Christ  to  God  is  an  entirely  different  thing.  It  were 
to  be  desired  that  before  the  celebration  of  the  Eucharist,  by 
means  of  which  we  apiDropriate  this  sacrifice  to  ourselves, 
some  rite  should  be  performed  in  which  we  present  the  sacri- 
fice to  the  angry  majesty  of  God, — a  rite,  solemnly  represent- 
ing and  symbolically  embodying  that  watchword  of  our 
Church — "  the  blood  and  righteousness  of  Christ,  they  are 
my  adornment  and  robe  of  honour," — a  rite  through  which 
every  Sunday  the  burdened  heart  might  solemnly  cast  its  load 
of  guilt  and  sin  on  Him  who  bore  our  weaknesses  and  carried 
our  sorrows.  We  want,  in  short,  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass  in 
an.  Evangelical  sense  and  spirit.  Such  a  rite  would  truly  be- 
come a  Church  which   has  chosen  for  its  device  the  words. 


392  THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE. 

"  By  faith  alone  ;"  a  device  meaning,  of  course,  nothing  else 
than  "  By  the  blood  of  Christ  alone."  For  faith,  in  the  sense 
of  the  Lutheran  Church,  is  not  that  airy  thing  which  it  is 
now  often  represented  to  be, — it  is  no  hollow,  empty  excite- 
ment or  enthusiasm.  We  look  upon  faith  as  the  begging 
hand  by  which  we  lay  hold  on  the  merits  of  Christ,  by  which, 
kneeling  under  His  cross,  we  grasp  the  feet  of  Christ,  and 
say — 

"  Jesus,  full  of  all  compassion, 
Hear  thy  humble  suppliant's  cry, 
Let  me  know  thy  great  salvation, 
See  I  languish,  faint,  and  die : 
Guilty,  but  with  heart  relenting. 
Overwhelmed  with  helpless  grief, 
Prostrate  at  thy  feet  repenting, 
Send,  oh !  send  me  quick  relief." 

The  sin-offering  is  the  beginning  of  all  true  religion,  but  it 
is  not  its  end.  There  follow  the  sacrifices  which,  under  the 
Old  Covenant,  were  offered  by  those  who  were  in  a  state  of 
grace,  and  which  ought  still  to  be  offered  spiritually  by  the 
same  class. 

Among  these  sacrifices,  burnt-offerings  take  the  first  place. 
Where  various  sacrifices  are  mentioned  together,  the  sin-offer- 
ing always  precedes  the  burnt-offering,  and  this  latter  the 
thank-offering.  In  Romans  xii.  1,  the  first  of  all  the  claims 
made  on  those  who  are  justified  by  the  blood  of  Christ,  is 
that  tliey  present  their  bodies  as  burnt-sacrifices.  What  the 
characteristic  element  in  the  burnt-offering  was,  we  learn  from 
the  names  given  to  it.  It  was  called,  for  example,  "  Olah," 
that  is,  "  that  which  ascends,"  that  which  rises  up  in  the  fire 
to  the  Lord,  thus  being  a  symbol  of  the  elevation  of  the  heart 
to  the  living  God.  It  was  also  called  "  Kalil,"  signifying 
"  the  whole,"  or,  "  a  perfect  sacrifice,"  because  of  the  entire  and 
complete  burning,  in  contrast  to  the  merely  partial  burning 
of  individual  parts  of  other  sacrifices — specially  of  the  slain- 
sacrifices.  The  lesson  conveyed  by  the  total  burning  was, 
that  the  elevation  and  surrender  of  the  heart,  symbolised  by 
the  burnt-offering,  ought  to  be  entire  and  unconditional,  that 
no  man  can  serve  two  masters,  that  God  demands  the  whole 
heart,  yea,  the  whole  man,  both  body  and  soul. 


THE  SACIUFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE.  S03 

According  to  these  names,  which  are  connected  together  in 
Psalm  li.  21,  entire  and  complete  combustion  is  quite  as 
characteristic  of  burnt-sacrifices,  as  the  sprinkling  of  the  blood 
is  of  sin-offerings.  The  lesson  of  burnt-offerings  was,  that  he 
who  is  justified  should  henceforth  live,  not  to  himself,  but  to 
the  Lord  as  His  faithful  servant.  With  this  meaning  accords 
the  important  position  occupied  by  them.  As  expressive  of 
the  disposition  which  ought  constantly  to  live  and  move  in 
the  congregation  of  the  "  servants  of  the  Lord,"  burnt-offerings 
were  repeated  at  every  act  of  worship  :  no  one  could  appear 
•without  a  burnt-offering.  Every  other  sacrifice  was  accom- 
panied by  a  burnt^offering ;  it  followed  the  sin-offering,  and 
preceded  the  peace-offering. 

Burnt-offerings  also  had  an  expiatory  significance.  This  is 
expressly  affirmed  in  Leviticus  i.  ^,  5,  as  also  in  Leviticus 
xiv.  20.  It  is  clear  also  fi'om  Leviticus  xyii.  11,  where  an 
atoning  import  is  ascribed  to  all  the  blood  that  is  brought  to 
the  altar.  It  is  further  evident,  from  the  circumstance  that, 
in  the  age  of  the  patriarchs,  burnt-offerings  still  occupied  the 
position  subsequently  assigned  to  the  sin-offering  instituted 
by  Moses.  Nothing  is  more  closely  present  to  the  mind  of 
him  who  devotes  himself  to  God  than  the  thought  of  his  own 
sinfulness — ^yea,  even  when  he  has  just  received  the  atone- 
ment and  forgiveness  of  liis  sin  ;  for  sin  ever  cleaves  unto  him. 
Now  this  thought  was  met  and  quieted  by  the  expiatory  ele- 
ment contained  in  the  burnt-offering,  in  the  case  of  such  as 
were  already  conscious  of  it ;  and  the  same  element  tended, 
at  the  same  time,  to  stir  up  the  thought  in  the  minds  of  those 
to  whom  it  had  hitherto  been  strange.  Those,  however,  who 
assert  that  burnt-offerings  have  predominantly  the  same  im- 
port as  sin-offerings,  entirely  overlook  the  clear  line  of  separa- 
tion between  the  two,  and  thus  prevent  the  attainment  of 
any  deeper  insight  into  the  nature  of  the  former.  The  expia- 
tory element  in  burnt-offerings  was  a  thoroughly  subordinate 
one,  as  is  evident  both  from  its  being  so  rarely  and  inci- 
dentally mentioned,  and  from  the  fact  that  the  sprinkling  of 
blood  was  by  no  means  a  marked  and  emphatic  act,  as  in  the 
case  of  sin-offerings.  It  was  done  in  the  most  general  pos- 
sible way :  the  blood  was  merely  sprinkled  round  about  the 
altar. 


' 


394  THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE. 

In  order  to  our  understanding  the  burnt-offering  more 
thoroughly,  let  us  follow  its  course  through  history. 

After  the  flood,  which  swallowed  up  all  the  living  things 
on  earth,  Noah  built  an  altar  to  the  Lord,  and  offered  burnt- 
offerings  thereon.  And  the  Lord  smelled  the  sweet  savour, 
and  said  in  His  heart,  I  will  not  again  curse  the  ground  any 
more  for  man's  sake,  for  the  imagination  of  man's  heart  is  evil 
from  his  youth.  In  his  burnt-offerings,  Noah  offered  himself 
for  a  new  obedience  on  the  renewed  earth.  The  Lord  saw  in 
him  the  Church,  which,  by  the  calling  of  Abraham,  was  about 
to  receive  new  and  solid  foundations.  By  the  burnt-offering 
of  devotion,  which  the  Church  presents  to  Him,  the  earth  is 
to  be  secured  against  new  judgments  of  universal  destruction. 
Here  we  learn  the  nature  of  true  patriotism.  The  same 
means  of  defence  which  keep  back  a  universal  judgment,  must 
also  keep  back  particular  judgments.  The  best  union  for  the 
salvation  and  protection  of  one's  country,  is  a  union  for  the 
offering  of  burnt-offerings,  a  union  for  the  surrender  to  God 
of  our  whole  body  and  soul.  Our  patriotism  should  be  mea- 
sured by  our  devotion  to  that  Lord  who  declared,  and  not 
without  meaning  it,  that  he  would  not  destroy  Sodom,  even 
though  there  were  only  ten  righteous  men  found  in  it. 

According  to  Genesis  xxii.  2,  Abraham  was  commanded  to 
offer  up  his  son  Isaac  for  a  burnt-offering.  In  demanding 
Isaac,  God  demanded  Abraham  himself,  for  the  father's  heart 
clung  to  the  son  of  his  old  age.  The  false  view  he  took  of 
the  divine  command  gave  occasion  to  his  truly  accomplishing 
the  spiritual  sacrifice  intended  by  God :  and  so  soon  as  this 
took  place,  means  were  taken  to  prevent  the  consequences 
which  would  have  followed  from  his  misunderstanding.  But 
the  command  given  to  the  father  of  the  faithful,  is  still  ad- 
dressed to  all  believers.  To  each  one  God  says,  by  means  of 
this  fact :  "  Bring  thine  Isaac,  keep  nothing  back,  give  up 
everything  to  me." 

In  the  midst  of  burnt-offerings,  was  the  covenant  concluded 
which  the  Lord  made  with  Israel  on  Sinai.  Exodus  xxiv.  2, 
famishes  the  explanation — "And  all  the  people  answered  with 
one  voice  and  said,  all  the  words  which  the  Lord  hath  spoken 
wiU  we  do."  On  the  ground  of  this  readiness  to  make  a  com- 
plete surrender  of  themselves  which  is  here  represented  as  the 


THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE.  395 

characteristic  mark  of  the  people  of  God,  they  Avere  purified 
from  their  sins  of  weakness  by  the  blood  of  the  burnt-offerings, 
whose  atoning  efficacy  is  brought  to  view  in  the  passage  in 
question  (compare  also  Hebrews  ix.  21).  Then  in  the  peace- 
offerings  they  presented  thanks  for  the  gi-ace  of  the  covenant 
vouchsafed  to  them. 

According  to  Numbers  vi.  the  fire  must  burn  on  the  altar 
and  never  be  extinguished.  Constantly,  also,  must  the  burnt- 
offering  burn  on  the  altar :  the  burnt-offering  of  the  evening 
till  the  morning,  that  of  the  morning  till  the  evening.  In 
this  way  the  congregation  was  continually  reminded  that  by 
nature  and  destiny  it  was  bound  to  be  utterly  devoted  to  the 
service  of  the  Lord,  to  wait  ever  on  His  will. 

It  was  not  an  unimportant  matter  that  the  eternal  fire  on 
the  altar  which  consumed  the  burnt-offerings  had  an  heavenly 
origin.  According  to  Numbers  ix.  24,  it  fell  from  heaven  at 
the  offering  of  the  first  sacrifice.  It  had  a  symbolical  mean- 
ing, it  was  an  image  of  the  divine  nature.  The  Books  of  Moses 
themselves  give  us  the  explanation  of  the  symbol.  We  read, 
for  example,  in  Deuteronomy  iv.  24,  (compare  Deut.  ix.  3  ; 
Hebrews  xii.  29),  "the  Lord  thy  God  is  a  consum^ing  fii^e,  a 
jealous  God."  Fire,  therefore,  is  a  designation  of  God,  as  that 
living  energy  which  is  unable  to  tolerate  anything  alongside 
of  and  as  a  rival  of  itself  To  those  who  offer  themselves  for 
burnt-offerings,  the  fire  of  divine  energy  is  a  fire  of  love  :  as 
it  has  been  said,  "  would  God  that  the  glow  of  thy  love  might 
slajr  my  dead  works."  To  those,  on  the  contrary,  who  refuse 
burnt-offerings,  the  fire  of  divine  energy  is  a  fire  of  anger. 
We  read  in  Isaiah  xxxiii.  1 4,  that  when  the  divine  judgments 
were  breaking  in  upon  Jerusalem,  the  godless  exclaimed,  as 
they  looked  at  the  sacred  fire  on  the  altar  of  burnt-offerings, 
"  Wlio  among  us  would  dwell  with  the  devouring  fire  ?  Who 
among  us  would  dwell  with  the  everlasting  burnings  ?"  Those, 
however,  who  willingly  submitted  themselves  to  the  cleansing 
of  the  divine  fire  of  love,  the  fire  on  the  altai-,  so  far  as  it  was 
a  type  of  the  fire  of  divine  anger,  was  calculated  rather  to 
console  than  to  terrify.  It  prophesied  the  destruction  of  their 
enemies.  After  threats  had  been  uttered  against  the  worldly 
power  which  was  inimical  to  the  kingdom  of  God,  we  read  in 
Isaiah  xxxi.  9,  "  thus  saith  the  Lord,  who  hath  a  fire  in  Zion, 


396  THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTUEE. 

and  a  furnace  in  Jerusalem :"  and  out  of  that  was  a  flame  to 
go  forth,  which  should  devour  the  enemies  of  God  and  His 
people.  In  the  New  Testament  also  we  are  placed  in  the 
midst  between  two  fires,  which  may  be  most  concisely  de- 
scribed, as  the  fire  of  the  burnt-oflering  and  the  fire  of  the 
Ban  or  excommunication  ; — two  fires  which  originate  in  the 
one  source  of  the  divine  jealousy  and  the  divine  energy. 
Rationalism  fails  to  see  this,  because  it  knows  not  God.  Its 
God,  like  itself,  is  remiss  in  love  and  remiss  in  anger.  Hence 
are  its  supporters  unable  to  understand  history,  and  to  find 
reason  and  method  in  the  course  by  which  they  themselves 
are  led.  Providence  is  no  work  of  a  careless  idol,  the  pro- 
duct of  men's  thoughts,  but  of  a  real,  living,  energetic  God. 
In  Mark  ix.  the  Lord  summons  his  disciples,  after  they  had 
proved  themselves  weak  in  the  time  of  temptation,  to  do  battle 
more  vigorously  for  the  future,  or  rather  to  be  more  earnest 
in  devoting  themselves  absolutely  to  God,  lest  they  should  be 
cast  into  hell  fire,  into  the  fire  which  shall  never  be  quenched. 
"For,"  as  he  proceeds  to  say  in  verse  49,  "every  one  must  be 
salted  with  fire  :" — that  is  the  only  means  by  which  we  can 
escape  from  the  fire  of  the  divine  anger.  The  salting  fii^e, 
which  alone  can  protect  us  from  the  tormenting  fire,  is  the 
fire  of  divine  love.  It  sanctifies  our  saltless  nature,  so  that, 
for  example,  we  shall  no  longer  dispute,  as  did  the  disciples, 
about  the  miserable  question,  which  among  us  is  the  greatest, 
but  shall  have  peace  one  with  another. 

As  our  forerunner  in  the  presentation  of  burnt-offerings, 
Christ  is  set  before  us  by  St.  Paul  in  Ephesians  v.  2.  Con- 
cerning Him  we  read  that  "  he  gave  himself  to  God  an  offer- 
ing and  sacrifice,  for  a  sweet  smelling  savour."  The  whole 
life  of  Christ  was  one  continuous  burnt-offering.  That  it  was 
so,  he  showed  most  clearly  when  he  said,  "  My  Father,  if  it  be 
not  possible  that  this  cup  pass  from  me,  except  I  drink  it,  thy 
will  be  done," — when  he  was  obedient  unto  death,  even  unto 
the  death  of  the  cross.  Origen  reckons  martyrdom  also  among 
the  sacrifices.  Christ's  example  shows  that  he  did  so  rightly. 
He  who  would  not,  if  needs  be,  become  a  martyr-,  who  would 
not  avoid  the  cock-crowing  and  the  bitter  weeping,  shows  that 
all  his  service  of  God  has  been  vain,  that  he  has  never  been 


THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE.  397 

in  earnest  with  the  burnt-offerings  so  strictly  required  by  the 
law  of  God.  In  his  case,  on  the  contrary,  who  has  done  so, 
martyrdom  is  but  the  revelation  of  that  which  was  always 
present  in  him. 

St.  Paul  says  in  Romans  xii.  1 ,  "  I  exhort  you,  brethren,  by 
the  mercies  of  God,  that  ye  present  your  bodies  a  Uving  sacri- 
fice, holy  and  acceptable  to  God,  which  is  your  rational  serr- 
vice."  These  words  give  us  the  meaning  of  burnt-offerings. 
The  exhortation  to  the  offering  of  a  self-sacrifice  is  based  on 
the  mercy  of  God,  the  depth  and  greatness  of  which  are  set 
before  us  in  the  first  part  of  the  Epistle.  That  God  who 
spared  not  even  his  only-begotten  Son,  but  gave  Him  up  for 
us  all,  will  unquestionably  not  suffer  himself  to  be  put  off 
with  halves  and  fragments  ;  he  will  not  be  satisfied  with  a 
few  idle  feelings,  with  a  few  hours  of  devotion,  with  a  few  ex- 
ternal works  connected  with  the  home  missions,  any  more  than 
with  a  bullock  which  has  horns  and  hoofs.  He  demands  our- 
selves, our  entire  selves  :  only  an  6>.oxaii7&)/i,a,  a  veritable  whole 
burnt-offering,  can  satisfy  Him.  We  are  to  give  up  our  bodies 
to  God.  "  The  body,"  says  Bengel,  "  in  many  respects  hinders 
the  soul :  give  the  body  to  God  and  the  soul  will  not  fail." 
As  the  Apostle  says  in  another  place,  (chap.  viii.  10),  the  body 
is  yet  dead  because  of  sin,  even  in  those  whose  spirit  is  life 
because  of  righteousness.  If,  then,  even  the  body  ought  to 
be  ofiered  for  a  sacrifice,  the  demand  must  be  for  a  total  and 
complete  sacrifice.  The  apostle  characterises  the  presentation 
of  such  a  sacrifice  as  a  '■  rational  service."  An  irrational  ser- 
vice it  is  to  fancy,  ^dth  those  who  derive  their  name  from 
reason  (Rationalists),  that  He,  whose  is  the  earth  and  all  things 
that  are  therein,  the  world,  and  they  that  dwell  thereon,  can 
be  satisfied  if  we  merely  wash  a  spot  here  and  there  from  the 
utterly  stained  and  defiled  garment  of  the  flesh,  or  rather,  if 
we  do  but  rub  it  a  little. 

Burnt-offerings  also  ought  to  be  represented  more  distinctly 
in  our  worship  than  has  hitherto  been  the  case.  The  altar 
of  burnt-offerings,  with  its  ever  flaming  fire,  should  find  ex- 
pression in  our  liturgical  forms.  That  there  exists  a  necessity 
for  some  more  decided  expression  of  this  element,  will  be  seen 
from  some  verses  (quoted  below),  of  the  noble  sacrificial  song 


398  THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLT  SCRIPTURE. 

by  John  Angelus,  in  which  the  idea  of  the  burnt-offering  is 
very  clearly  embodied* 

One  observation  more  "with  respect  to  burnt-offerings.  The 
gifts  of  love  which  St.  Paul  received  as  the  servant  of  the 
Lord  from  the  Churches,  are  described  in  PhiHppians  iv.  18, 
in  allusion  to  burnt-offerings,  as  "  an  odour  of  a  sweet  smell, 
a  sacrifice  acceptable  and  well-pleasing  to  God."  He  thus 
teaches  us  that  all  other  gifts  and  sacrifices  to  the  Lord  and 
for  his  kingdom  arise  out  of  the  burnt-offering.  He  gives  us 
to  understand  that  those  who  have  given  themselves  really  up 
to  Him,  both  in  body  and  soul,  must  prove  their  sincerity  by 
joyfully  resigning  that  which  belongs  to  them.  He  furnishes 
a  test  by  which  we  may  try  the  reality  of  the  inward  fact  of 
our  self- surrender.  Under  the  Old  Covenant  it  was  appointed 
that  the  inward  act  should  embody  itself,  and  this  embodi- 
ment served  as  a  test.  The  three  bullocks,  by  which  Samuel's 
parents  offered  their  son,  and,  in  their  son,  their  own  hearts 
to  the  Lord,  must  have  constituted  a  large  portion  of  their 
limited  property.  For  that  such  Levitical  families  were  pretty 
poor,  is  plain  from  the  circumstance  that  Moses  repeatedly 
mentions  the  Levites,  who  had  no  part  nor  lot  with  the 
rest  of  the  Israelites,  in  conjunction  with  other  wretched  per- 
sons on  whom  it  was  a  duty  of  the  rich  to  bestow  of  their 
abundance  (see,  for  example,  Deut.  xiv.  29).  Elkanah  and 
Hannah  proved  by  the  external  sacrifice  which  they  presented, 
that  the  sacrifice  of  their  hearts  was  real  and  sincere.  Under 
the  New  Covenant,  now  that  the  custom  of  representing  in 
an  outward  form  the  feelings  of  the  heart  has  ceased,  we  ought 


*  Hochster  Priester,  der  du  dich 
Selbst  geopfert  hast  fiir  mich, 
Lass  doch,  bitt'  ich,  noch  auf  Erdeu 
Auch  mein  Herz  dein  Opfer  werden. 

Drum  so  todt  und  schlachte  hin 
Meinen  Willen,  meinen  Sinn  : 
Reiss  mein  Herz  aus  meinem  Herzen, 
SoUt's  auch  seyn  mit  tausend  Schmerzen. 

Trage  Holz  auf  den  Altar 
Und  verbrenn  mich  ganz  und  gar, 
O  du  allerliebste  Leibe : 
^        Wenn  doch  nichts  mehr  von  mir  bliebe ! 


THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTUEE.  399 


to  test  their  sincerity  by  other  means.     Would  such  tests  give 
a  satisfactory  result  ? 

Thank-offerings  next  present  themselves  for  consideration. 
They  have  this  in  common  with  burnt-offerings,  that  they  owe 
their  origin  to  the  state  of  grace,  or  may  only  be  brought  by 
such  as  are  in  the  state  of  gi-ace.  In  Scripture  they  have 
three  different  names.  The  first  name  is  "  slain-offering" 
"  Sebach,"  is  never  used  to  denote  sacrifices  in  general.  The 
name  indicates  that  this  sacrificing  stood  in  a  certain  relation 
to  the  common  slaughtering,  that  the  offerer  shared  in  the 
sacrifice  along  with  the  Lord,  which  was  not  the  case  with 
burnt-offerings,  which  belonged  entirely  to  God.  The  second 
name  "  Shelamim,"  signifying  "  peace-offering,"*  expresses  more 
fully  the  essential  nature  of  the  sacrifice.  It  directs  attention 
to  the  occasion  of  these  sacrifices  ;  they  always  bore  reference 
to  the  peace  of  those  who  brought  them.  The  third  name, 
"  praise-offerings,"  designates  the  sentiments  embodied  in  the 
sacrifices."!- 

That  thank-offerings  refen^ed  not  only  to  peace  received, 
but  also  to  peace  expected,  is  plain,  for  two  reasons.  Firstly, 
it  is  inconceivable  that  precatory  sacrifices  should  altogether 
fail  in  the  Mosaic  Cultus,  for  the  prayer,  "  Hear  the  cry  of 
our  necessity,"  is  too  important  an  element  in  the  relation  of 
poor  mortals  to  God,  on  this  curse-laden  earth,  as  we  see  from 
the  Psalms,  to  be  entirely  omitted.      It  ought,  on  the  contraiy, 


*  D^^K',  the  verb  from  which  D^^  is  derived,  has  in  Kal  only  the  one  mea»- 
ing,  "  to  be  complete,  unscathed,  sound."  Even  the  Septuagint  has  explained 
the  word  correctly,  translating  uh^  by  auTr^piov  and  ilprjvixov.  In  favour  there- 
of is  also  the  correspondence  with  the  name  of  the  praise-offerings  mm  nat- 

t  Several  writers  have  tried,  but  without  success,  to  change  the  name  of  the 
genus,  into  the  name  of  a  particular  species.  Leviticus  vii.  II  ff,  is  decidedly 
opposed,  instead  of  being  favourable,  to  such  a  course.  Verse  12  does  not  tell 
us  what  was  to  take  place  in  connection  with  praise-offerings  as  distinguished 
from  other  classes  of  peace-offerings,  but  what  followed  from  the  nature  of  the 
slain  sacrifice  as  a  praise-offering.  In  verse  IG,  we  are  informed  that  the  rule, 
that  of  the  flesh  of  the  praise-offering  nothing  should  be  preserved,  held  good 
for  both  species  without  distinction,  namely,  for  vowed-offerings,  and  free-will- 
otlerings.  That,  in  all  other  cases,  the  praise-offering  stands  for  the  entire  genus 
is  plain  enough  (compare,  for  example,  Psalm  hi.  14;  liv.  8;  cxvi.  17,  18). 
Nothing  in  Leviticus  xxii.  18,  21,  indicates  that  more  than  two  classes  of  thank- 
offerings,  namely,  vowed-offerings  and  free-will-offeriugs  existed. 


400  THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTUBE. 

to  find  a  complete  representation  in  sacrifice*  Secondly, 
thank-offerings  were  frequently  brought  on  occasions  of  sorrow, 
and  then  they  could  only  refer  to  benefits  expected,  arid  not 
to  those  which  had  bee.i  already  received.  On  this  ground, 
according  to  2  Samuel  xxi v.  25,  David  brought  burnt-oife rings 
and  thank-offerings,  whilst  the  punishment  of  the  pride  shown  in 
causing  the  people  to  be  numbered  was  in  coui-se  of  execution ; 
and  only  after  that  had  been  done  was  it  said,  "And  the  Lord 
suffered  Himself  to  be  entreated  for  the  land,  and  the  plague 
was  stayed  from  the  people  of  Israel."  So  also,  in  Judges 
XX.  26,  were  thank-offerings  brought  by  the  children  of  Israel, 
after  they  had  suffered  a  serious  overthrow  :  and  in  Judges 
xxi.  1 4,  aiter  the  tribe  of  Benjamin  had  been  almost  entirely 
exterminated,  (compare  further  1  Samuel  xiii.  9).  Two  reasons 
ma}^  be  advanced,  explaining  why  the  petition  was  expressed 
in  the  form  of  thanks.  Firstly,  to  give  thanks  for  grace 
already  received,  is  a  refined  way  of  begging  for  more.  Whoso 
asks  without  returning  thanks,  prevents  his  petition  being 
heard.  Thankfulness  is  one  of  the  characteristics  by  which 
the  congregation  of  God  is  distinguished  from  the  world,  and 
he  who  has  not  this  mai'k  is  turned  away.  The  man  who  only 
gives  praise  and  thanks  will  be  heard,  though  he  do  not 
expressly  pray.  That  thanksgiving  was  indirectly  prayer,  we 
learn  from  Psalm  ix.  and  Psalm  xl.,  in  which  the  former  pre- 
cedes the  latter.  We  are  taught  the  same  thing  by  the  fact, 
that  the  Hallelujah  Psalms  were  composed  at  the  time  of  the 
deepest  degradation  of  the  people  of  God.  Secondly,  the 
Church  of  God  is  distinguished  from  the  world,  in  that  it  never 
prays  by  way  of  experiment,  as  it  were,  but  grounds  all  its 
requests  on  the  Divine  word  and  promise,  and  is  able  to  ask 
in  faith,  nothing  doubting  (James  i.  6).  One  consequence, 
thereof,  is,  that  its  prayer  may  be  expressed  in  the  form  of 
anticipated  thanks.  Faith  feels  itself  already  in  possession  of 
the  blessing  which  is  to  come  ;  as  Jesus  declared,  even  before 
Lazarus  was  raised  from  the  dead  :   "  Father,  I  thank  Thee 

*  It  is  unallowable  to  say  that  prayer  was  represented,  along  with  other  things, 
by  the  incense.  Incsnse  alone  would  not  satisfactorily  represent  either  prayer 
or  thanksgiving,  for  it  involved  no  sacrifice,  no  giving  up,  which  could  prove  the 
sincerity  of  the  offerer.  The  spheres  of  the  altar  of  burnt-offerings,  and  of  the 
altar  of  incense,  were  diverse.  Prayer  must  have  its  symbol  on  the  former  as 
well  as  on  the  latter. 


THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTUllE.  401 

that  Tliou  liast  heard  Me"  (John  xi.  41).  In  the  midst  of  his 
distress,  the  Psahnist  cries  out,  after  having  received  the  assur- 
ance that  he  would  be  heard,  "  I  will  freely  sacrifice  to  Thee  • 
I  wiU  praise  Thy  name,  for  it  is  good"  (Psalm  liv.  G).  With 
the  same  joy  of  deliverance,  and  whilst  his  life  hung  but  on  a 
thread,  David  says  el'ewhere,  "  Thy  vows  are  up^'on  me,  O 
God.  Thank-offerings  will  I  pay  unto  Thee"  (Psalm  Ivi.  I's). 
Thank-offerings  were  divided  into  two  classes— oferi»r/s  of 
mws,  which  were  obligatory  on  him  who  had  made  a  vow  in 
a  time  of  distress;  and  freewill-offerings,  in  connection  with 
which  there  was  no  such  obligation.  The  vow  originated  in 
self-distrust,  in  a  mans  fear  of  his  own  lukewarmness  un- 
willingness, unthankfulness.  Tlie  offerings  which  followed 
upon  it  occupy  a  lower  position  than  the  freewill-offerings,  but 
stand  far  higher  than  that  thankless  indifference  which*!  after 
Pharaoh's  example,  completely  forgets  God  as  soon  as  it  can 
once  again  breathe  freely. 

An  important  difference  existed  between  thank-offerings,  on 
the  one  hand,  and   sin-offerings  and   burnt-offerings  on  'the 
other,  in  so  far  as  the  latter  represented  the  person  of  him  who 
brought  them,   whereas  the  former  were  simply  gifts.       This 
peculiarity  was  indicated  by  the  circumstance,   that  not  the 
whole  thank-offering,  but  only  single  parts  thereof,  were  pre- 
sented to  the  Lord.     Attention  is  further  called  to  the  differ- 
ence, by  the  peculiar  way  in  which  mention  is  made  of  the 
offerings.      Burnt-offerings  and  slain-offerings  are  not  unfre- 
quently  connected  in  such  a  way  as  that  they  designate  the 
totality  of  sacrifices,  inclusive  of  sin-offerings.      So,  for  example, 
in  Leviticus  xvii.  8  ;  Numbers  xv.  3,  8  ;   Ezra  viii.  35,  where 
sin-offerings  are  expressly  reckoned  amongst  burnt-offerings. 
Where  burnt-offerings  are  alluded  to  in  this  general  sense,  the 
contrast  drawn  is  between  sacrifices  which  wei-e  entirely  con- 
secrated to  the  Lord,  and  those  of  which  the  offerers  also  took 
their  share.       The   former,   namely,   sin-offerings  and  burnt- 
offerings,  represented  the  person ;  the  latter,  a  particular  gifl 
of  the  person.     A  present,  a  gift  made  in  return,  is  the  us^al 
form  in  which  men  manifest  and  give  proof  of  their  thankful- 
ness.     In  his  relation  to  God,  man  has  only  one  way  of  prov- 
ing his  thankfulness,  to  wit,  by  the  thanks  itself     The  Mosaic 
Cultus  ordained  that  tliis  thanks  should  symbolically  embody 
2  c 


402  THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE. 

itself  in  an  offering.  Accordingly,  in  the  case  of  thank-offer- 
ings, the  import  of  the  laying  on  of  hands,  which  in  general 
was  a  sign  of  the  connection  existing  between  the  sacrifice  and 
the  offerer,  was  modified.  The  laying  of  the  hands  on  the 
sin-offering  and  the  burnt-offering  said,  symbolically,  "That 
am  I :" — their  laying  on  the  thank-offering  said,  on  the  con- 
trary, "That  is  my  gift,  my  thanks."* 

.  A  thank-offering  was  never  allowed  to  follow  immediately 
on  a  sin-offering.  Its  necessary  basis  was  a  bumt-offering. 
We  read  of  the  thank-offering  in  Leviticus  iii.  5  :  "  And 
Aaron's  sons  shall  burn  it  on  the  altar,  upon  the  burnt-sacri- 
fice." Prayer  for  peace,  and  thanksgiving  for  the  same,  must 
always  be  preceded  by  the  consecration  and  surrender  of  the 
whole  man  to  the  Lord.  Thankfulness  has  no  worth  except 
as  it  rests  on  the  foundation  of  that  complete  self-devotion,  to 
which  we  are  summoned  afresh  by  every  display  of  mercy : 
indeed,  there  is  no  true  thankfulness  without  such  devotion. 

Although  thank-offerings  could  only  be  brought  by  such  as 
were  in  the  state  of  grace,  still  the  consciousness  of  sin  was 
represented  in  them.  In  this  instance  also  the  shedding  of 
blood,  and  the  sprinkling  with  blood,  had  an  expiatory  meaning. 

An  inseparable  accompaniment  of  God's  benefits  to  His  chil- 
dren is  the  feeling  of  their  own  unworthiness.  They  say  with 
Jacob,  in  Genesis  xxxii.  10,  "I  am  not  worthy  of  the  least 
of  all  thy  mercies,  and  of  all  the  truth  which  thou  hast  shown 
to  thy  servant:"  and  with  David,  in  2  Samuel  vii.  18,  "Who 
am  I,  O  Lord  God,  and  what  is  my  house  that  Thou  hast 
brought  me  hitherto  ?"  When  the  Saviour  comes  to  us  with 
healing  and  blessing,  we  say  with  the  centurion,  "  Lord,  I  am 
not  worthy  that  thou  shouldest  come  under  my  roof."  To 
the  man  in  a  state  of  gTace,  every  bestowal  of  mercy  is  at  the 
same  time  an  exhortation  to  repentance.  He  cannot  return 
thanks  without  humbling  himself,  without  seeking  forgiveness 
for  his  unworthiness.  This  element,  however,  was  only  a 
subordinate  one  in  thank-offerings,  as  is  clear  from  the  fact, 
that  the  blood  was  sprinkled  in  the  most  general  possible  form. 

A  peculiar  usage  in  connection  with  thank-offerings  was,  the 
heaving  and  waving  of  the  portions  set  apart  for  the  officiat- 

*  It  occasions  only  confusion  to  suppose  that  the  laying  ofthe  hands  on  burnt- 
offerings  and  thank  offerings  denoted  the  imputation  of  sin.   ■ 


THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE.  403 

ing  priest.  It  signified  tliat  those  portions,  no  less  than  the 
others  consumed  on  the  altar,  were  presented  and  devoted  to 
the  Lord  ;  that  the  priests  received  them  only  as  the  servants 
of  the  Lord.  In  Numbers  viii.  1 1 ,  where  the  custom  is  ob- 
served at  the  appointment  of  the  Levites,  it  was,  undoubtedly, 
a  symbol  of  consecration.  The  heaving  pointed  to  God  as 
enthroned  in  the  heavens  :  the  waving  to  Him  as  ruling  upon 
earth — it  denoted  that  which  the  Psalmist  teaches  us,  when 
he  says,  "  Thou  compassest  my  path  and  my  lying  down" 
(Psalm  cxxxix.  3). 

Connected  with  thank-offerings  was  the  sacrificial  feast. 
This,  however,  was  by  no  means  the  main  feature  of  the 
thank-offering :  it  was  itself  the  main  point.  The  sacrificial 
feast  is  set  in  a  false  light  by  those  who  represent  the  Lord 
as  the  host  in  the  case.  Of  that  not  a  single  trace  can  be 
found.  The  slain  sacrifices  were,  by  nature,  not  whole  offer- 
ings, and  therefore  the  parts  not  consecrated  to  the  Lord  were 
eaten.  The  characteristic  is  the  mutual  participation  :  and 
the  explanation  is  given  us  in  the  words  of  our  Saviour,  "  If 
any  man  will  hear  My  voice  and  open  the  door,  I  will  come 
in  to  him,  and  will  sup  with  him,  and  he  with  Me."  This 
fellowship  of  those  who  are  in  a  state  of  gi-ace  constitutes  the 
countei-part  to  that  of  the  Passover,  by  which  the  forgiveness 
of  sin  was  appropriated  ;  but  although  immediately  connected 
only  with  the  thank-offering,  it  presupposed  the  burnt-offering. 
Indeed,  the  latter  always  preceded,  and  laid  the  foundation  for 
the  former.  The  covenant  relation  is  a  thoroughly  ordered 
one  :  disturbances  thereof  are  done  away  with.  In  bestowing 
peace  the  Lord  has,  in  fact,  and  virtually,  justified  His  servant, 
and  caused  to  cease  the  complaints,  "Where  is  now  my  God?" 
"  Why  art  thou  cast  down,  O  mj^soul?"  On  the  other  hand, 
the  servant  has  consecrated  himself  afresh  to  the  Lord,  by 
means  of  the  burnt-offering ;  and  by  means  of  the  thank-offer- 
ing met  the  claim,  "  Be  ye  exceedingly  thankful."  And  now 
he  enters  into  intimate  communion  with  the  Lord,  is  spiritually 
married  to  Him.  The  sacrificial  feasts  were  the  times  of  re- 
freshing from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  ;  times  when  men  could 
say  with  their  whole  heart,  "  The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd," 
"  the  Lord  is  my  portion,  whom  I  truly  love  ;"  times  when 
the  difterence  between  the  present  and  the  future  state,  which 


404  THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE. 

is  SO  often  a  burden  to  us,  disappears,  and  "we  enjoy  a  fore- 
taste of  eternal  life. 

The  sacrificial  feasts  were,  at  the  same  time,  love-feasts. 
Besides  the  man-servant,  and  maid-servant,  the  stranger,  and 
the  widow,  and  the  orphan,  were  invited  thereto  (Deut.  xii.  8, 
xvi.  11  ;  Psalm  xxii.  27),  and  were  thus  made  participators  in 
the  blessing  and  joy  afforded,  and  associates  of  the  thanks  and 
the  praise  expressed  in  them.  A  heart  open  towards  heaven 
cannot  possibly  remain  closed  to  earth.  Unable  to  give  God 
anything  but  the  mere  thanks  of  the  lieart,  it  is  a  joy  to  com- 
municate to  His  creatures  of  the  blessings  which  He  vouch- 
safes to  us.  And  now  that,  under  the  New  Covenant,  we  are 
no  longer  able,  as  under  the  Old  Covenant,  to  prove  the  sin- 
cerity of  our  disposition,  by  means  of  the  outward  embodiment 
of  gratitvide  formerly  enjoined,  the  sacrifice  being  a.  purely 
spiritual  one,  we  ought  to  feel  ourselves  more  strongly  impelled 
than  ever  to  honour  God,  by  doing  good  to  His  widows  and 
orphans. 

We  may  thus  understand  why,  in  Hebrews  xiii.,  after  the 
words,  "  By  Him,  therefore,  let  us  offer  the  sacrifice  of  praise 
to  God  continually  ;  that  is,  the  fruit  of  the  lips  wliich  confess 
His  name,"  there  follow  immediately  those  others, — "  To  do 
good  and  communicate,  forget  not ;  for  with  such  sacrifices  God 
is  well  pleased."  His  exposition  of  the  force  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment thank-offering  would  have  been  incomplete  had  the  apostle 
'  been  content  with  mentioning  merely  tjie  former  element. 

Thus,  then,  the  great  allegory  of  sacrifice,  which  ran  through 
'the  life  of  the  Church  of  the  Old  Covenant  was  a  continuous 
injunction — "  Seek  the  forgiveness  of  your  sins;  devote  your- 
selves, body  and  soul,  to  the  Lord  ;  call  upon  Him  in  times  of 
need,  and  thank  Him  for  His  grace."  One  element,  however, 
remains,  which  is  unrepresented  in  the  sacrifices  and  offerings 
hitherto  considered,  to  wit,  zeal  in  good  tvorhs :  and,  from  the 
very  commencement,  this  was  one  of  the  peculiar  characteristics 
of  the  true  Church  of  God.  To  keep  the  way  of  the  Lord,  to 
do  righteousness  and  judgment,  is  set  forth,  even  in  Genesis 
xviii.  19,  as  the  task  of  the  people  of  God.  This  truth  was 
symbolically  represented  by  the  bloodless  sacrifice  or  the  meat- 
offering. 

This  class  of  sacrifices  was  united,  and  formed  one  whole. 


THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE.  405 

with  the  bloody  sacrifices.  They  were  never  brought  inde- 
pendently. Nor  were  they  ever  connected  with  sin-offerings, 
but  exclusively  with  burnt-offerings  and  thank-offerings.  Meat- 
offerings consisted  of  bread  and  wine  ; — the  former  was  brought 
in  all  the  different  shapes  in  which  coi'n  is  prepared  for  the 
sustenance  of  man.  In  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testament  these  things  are  the  usual  symbols  and  representa.- 
tives  of  nourishment.  Earthly  kings  were  supplied  with 
physical  nutriment  by  their  subjects,  and  the  imposts  consisted 
in  great  part  of  the  productions  of  nature  (compare  Genesis 
xlix.  20  ;  1  Kings  iv.  7).  But  in  this  case,  where  the  King  is 
a  spiritual,  a  heavenly  one,  who  dismisses  any  fancy  that  He 
can  be  refreshed  or  quickened  by  material  offerings,  with  the 
words,  "  If  I  were  hungry  I  would  not  tell  thee  ;  for  the  world 
is  Mine,  and  the  fulness  thereof"  (Psalm  1.  1 2,)  the  physical  food 
presented  to  Him  can  only  be  a  symbol  of  the  spiritual.  In 
accordance  with  the  inseparable  connection  existing,  on  the 
part  of  God,  between  giving  and  requirement,  side  by  side  with 
the  petition,  "  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread,"  and  with  the 
promise  on  which  that  petition  is  based,  goes  the  demand  of 
God,  "  Give  me  this  day  my  daily  bread,"  and  the  Church 
meets  this  claim  when  it  is  zealous  in  good  works.  After  this 
spiritual  food  the  Lord  hungers  (Matthew  xxi.  1 8) ;  not, 
however,  as  though,  strictly  speaking,  He  stood  in  need  of  it ; 
for  He  can  equally  fulfil  the  laws  of  His  nature  in  the  punish- 
ment of  those  who  refuse  to  present  such  offerings.  At  the 
same  time,  the  strong  expressions  employed,  show,  that,  so  far 
as  the  Lord  needs,  so  far  is  He  not  indifferent  to  such  things, 
and  what  those  have  to  expect  who  refuse  to  satisfy  His  desires. 
The  connecting  of  the  meat-offering  with  the  burnt-offering 
taught  both  that  the  consecration  and  suiTender  of  the  whole 
person  must  necessarily  precede  good  works,  and  also  that 
good  works  must  necessarily  follow ;  for  Jehovah,  the  Holy 
One,  who  says,  "  Be  ye  holy,  for  I  am  holy,"  cannot  be  served 
with  mere  feelings  of  dependence,  or  even  of  love,  but  requires 
zeal  in  the  fulfilment  of  His  commands.  The  only  proof  of 
actual  surrender  recognised  by  Him  is  set  forth  in  the  words  of 
David  :  "  Lord,  who  shall  abide  in  thy  tabernacle?  Who  shall 
dwell  in  thy  holy  hill?  He  that  walketh  uprightly  and 
worketh  righteousness,  and  speaketh  the  truth  in  his  heart ; 


,4UG  THE  SACRIFICES  QF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE. 

who  bacicbiteth  not  with  his  tongue,  nor  doeth  evil  to  his 
neighbour,  nor  uttereth  reproaches  against  his  neighbour," 
(Psalm  XV.)  ;  and  in  the  words  of  the  Lord :  "  Ye  are  my 
friends  if  ye  do  whatsoever  I  command  you,"  (John  xv.  1  4). 
The  connecting  of  the  meat-offering  with  the  thank-offering 
(Leviticus  vii.  1 2),  taught  that  true  thankfulness  rhust  show 
itself,  not  only  in  acknowledgment  (symbolized  by  the  bloody 
sacrifice),  but  also  in  the  life  and  conduct. 

The  meat-offering  of  the  entire  congregation  was  th  e  shetvbread. 
Cakes  of  this,  according  to  the  number  of  the  tribes  of  Israel, 
were  appointed  to  lie  continually  before  the  face  of  the  Lord, 
in  order  that  tlie  people  might  be  reminded  that  their  mission 
was  to  be  zealous  in  good  works.  The  laying  of  the  shew- 
bread  fresh  on  the  table  every  Sunday  (Leviticus  xxiv.  7),  in- 
dicated that  zeal  in  good  works  should  be  quickened  and  sti- 
mulated on  the  days  of  rest  and  of  assembly  before  the  Lord. 

That  the  zeal  in  good  works,  symbolized  by  meat-offerings, 
should  manifest  itself  in  missionary  operations,  is  evident  from 
Isaiah  Ixvi.  20,  where  the  prophet,  after  telling  how  the  mes- 
sengers of  Israel  will  be  the  first  to  proclaim  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  among  the  heathen  in  the  time  of  redemption,  says, — 
; "  And  they  shall  bring  all  your  brethren  for  a  meat-offering  to 
the  Lord,  as  the  children  of  Israel  bring  meat-offerings  in  a 
■clean  vessel  into  the  house  of  the  Lord."  From  this  we  see 
that  zeal  in  missions  to  the  Jews,  now  so  shamefully  neglected, 
:  should  form  part  of  the  meat-offering  which  we  present  to  the 
•Lord.  Missions  to  the  heathen  are  treated  by  St.  Paul  from 
the  same  point  of  view,  when,  in  Romans  xv.  16,  he  repre- 
.sents  himself  as  a  servant  of  Christ  among  the  heathen,  in  order 
■that  the  heathen  may  become  a  meat-offering,  acceptable  to 
God,  and  sanctified  by  the  Hol)^  Spirit.  The  same  apostle  re- 
presents the  faithfulness  in  his  calling,  showed  by  him  even 
to  the  point  of  sacrificing  his  hfe,  as  a  spiritual  drinh-offering 
— preferring  the  drink-offering  to  the  meat-offering  as  a  sym- 
bol, because  of  its  analogy  to  the  impending  shedding  of  his 
blood.  He  says,  in  Philippians  ii.  1 7,  "  Yea,  and  if  I  be  offered 
(strictly,  if  I  be  poured  as  a  drink-offering)  on  the  sacrifice  and 
service  of  your  faith,  I  joy  and  rejoice  with  you  all :"  and  again, 
in  2  Timothy  vi.  6,  "  for  I  am  already  offered  {i.e.,  poured  out 
as  a  drink-offering),  and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand." 


THE  SACRIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE.  407 

According  to  Leviticus  ii.  11,  the  meat-offering  was  obliged 
to  be  without  leaven  and  honey.  Leaven,  in  Scripture,  is  the 
symbol  of  corruption.  The  name  unleavened  bread,  denotecj 
pure  bread.  Its  spiritual  correspondent  St.  Paul  describes  as 
purity  and  truth.  The  prohibition  of  leaven  calls  attention 
to  the  corruption  of  our  nature.  Good  works  should  not  b^ 
disfigured  and  made  unfit  for  the  spiritual  food  of  the  holy 
God,  by  any  mixture  of  impure  elements,  such  as  issue  only 
too  readily  from  the  corrupt  depths  of  our  nature.  "  There- 
fore take  heed  to  your  spirit,"  says  Malachi,  in  chap.  ii.  1 5. 
"  A  little  leaven  leaveneth  the  whole  lump."  Honey,  being  9. 
favourite  dish  in  oriental  countries,  is  the  symbol  of  the  lust 
of  the  world.  Similarly,  Hosea  says,  in  chap.  iii.  1,  concern- 
ing the  worldly-minded  Israelites,  "  They  love  cakes  of  grapes.T 
The  prohibition  of  honey  was  consequently  a  standing  admor 
nition  to  the  people :  "  If  ye  will  bring  spiritual  food,  whiclj 
is  acceptable  to  the  Lord,  love  not  the  world,  neither  the  thing-? 
that  are  in  the  world,  the  lust  of  the  eye,  the  lust  of  the  flesh, 
and  the  pride  of  life"  (1  John  ii.  1 C) ;  let  the  lust  of  the  world 
be  bitter  to  you — the  commands  of  God,  on  the  contrary, 
"sweeter  than  honey  or  the  honey  comb,''  (Psalm  xix.  11). 
What  was  hitter  formed  the  contrast  to  honey ;  for  example*, 
the  bitter  roots  which  were  appointed  to  be  eaten  at, the 
Passover.  The  believer  loves  not  the  sweets  of  the  world. 
He  loves  the  bitters  of  his  beloved  cross :  for  through  much 
tribulation  must  we  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  the 
wine-press  only  presses  out  the  wine. 

Hand  in  hand  with  the  prohibition  of  leaven  and  honey 
goes  the  command,  to  mix  oil  and  salt  with  the  sacrifices. 
Oil  is  spirit.  The  point  of  comparison  is  the  smoothness  an(jl 
soft  pliancy  (Psalm  Iv.  22;  Isaiah  i.  6),  in  contrast  to  hardness 
of  nature,  whether  in  a  coarse  or  a  refined  form.  To  be  in  the 
spirit  is  the  privilege  of  the  people  of  God.  "  But  if  we  live 
in  the  spirit  _we  should  also  walk  in  the  spirit,"  (Galatians 
V.  25).  God  is  a  spirit,  and  therefore  only  such  works  can 
please  Him  as  are  pervaded  and  saturated  with  spirit.  Every- 
thing else  is  but  a  dead  form.  In  the  symbolism  of  Holy 
Scripture,  salt  is  invariably,  and  only,  spoken  of  in  that  aspect 
of  it  which  first  suggests  itself,  to  wit,  as  a  seasoning  for  food  : 
and,  in  the  present  instance,  as  we  have  to  do  with  meat-offer- 


408  THE  SACEIFICES  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE. 

ings,  it  is  aa  needless  as  it  is  improper,  to  suppose  it  to  be 
referred  to  in  any  other  sense.  A  "  covenant  of  salt,"  of  which 
mention  is  twice  made  in  the  Scripture  (Numbers  xviii.  19  ; 
2  Chronicles  xiii.  5),  is  a  covenant  whose  words  do  not  lack 
the  seasoning  of  truth  and  sincerity.  The  explanation  of  those 
solemn  words,  "  All  thy  meat-offerings  shalt  thou  season  with 
salt,  neither  shalt  thou  suffer  the  salt  of  the  covenant  of  thy 
God  to  be  lacking  from  thy  meat-offering,"  (Leviticus  ii.  1 8),  is 
given  by  Paul  in  Colossians  iv.  6 :  "  Let  your  speech  be  alway 
with  grace,  and  seasoned  with  salt,  that  ye  may  know  how  ye 
ought  to  answer  every  man."  According  to  this,  salt  designates 
grace,  in  contrast  to  the  saltlessness  of  the  natural  state  of 
man.  Of  all  that  is  merely  natural — of  all  sociality,  of  all 
science,  of  all  art,  of  all  works,  which  have  their  roots  in  the 
soil,  nature,  that  holds  true  which  Job  spake  concerning  the 
discourses  of  his  friends  .•  "  Cab  that  which  is  unsavoury  be 
eaten  without  salt?  or  is  there  any  taste  in  the  white  of  an 
^ggV  (Job  vi.  6).  Elisha  healed  an  evil  well  of  water  with 
salt  (2  Kings  ii.  20).  That  well  was  a  symbol  of  our  nature, 
which  needs  to  be  seasoned  with  grace.  Why  was  it  so  foolish 
a  thing  for  the  sons  of  God,  in  old  time,  to  woo  and  marry  the 
daughters  of  men  ?  Because  these  latter  had  no  salt,  and  the 
union  with  them  drew  forth  the  natural  element  from  the 
background,  drove  out  grace,  and  of  necessity  caused  the  salt 
to  lose  its  savour. 

A  third  addition  to  the  meat-offering  was  frankincense 
(Leviticus  ii.  1 5).  The  sweet-smelling,  burning  frankincense 
is  everywhere  in  Scripture  the  symbol  of  prayer,  which  is  ac- 
ceptable in  the  sight  of  God,  (compare  Psalm  cxli.  2  ;  Luke 
i.  10  ;  Revelations  v.  8,  iii.  4).  The  mixing  of  frankincense 
with  meat-offerings,  taught  that  un 

and  finished  with  prayer.  But  the  exhortation,  "  pray  without 
ceasing,"  was  represented  in  a  special  manner  in  the  Cultus. 
Prayer  was  shadowed  forth,  and  believers  wei:e  reminded  of 
the  duty  and  blessedness  thereof  (Psalm  cxli.  2),  by  the  incense 
which  was  daily  offered,  both  at  night  and  in  the  morning. 

The  New  Covenant  is  not  the  termination,  but  the  glorifi- 
cation of  sacrifice.  Looking  forward  to  the  days  of  the  Re- 
deemer, Malachi,  the  last  of  the  prophets,  says,  "  From  the 
rising  of  the  sun  even  unto  the  going  down  of  the  same,  shall 


THE  SACRIFICES  OE  HOLY  SCRIPTURE.  409 

My  name  be  glorified  among  the  Gentiles,  and  in  every  place 
shall  incense  be  offered  unto  My  name,  and  a  pure  meat-offer- 
ing shall  be  brought"  (chap.  i.  H).  The  chief  among  the 
apostles  calls  Christians,  "  a  holy  priesthood,  to  offer  spiritual 
sacrifices,  well  pleasing  to  God,  through  Jesus  Christ"  (2  Peter 
ii  5).  Let  us  beware  that  we  hear  not  the  severe  word  once 
spoken  to  the  people  of  the  Old  Covenant,  "  Ye  offer  that 
which  is  lame  and  sick.  Should  I  accept  this  of  your  hand, 
saith  the  Lord?  Cursed  be  the  deceiver,  which  sacrificeth 
unto  the  Lord  a  corrupt  thing.  For  I  am  a  great  King,  saith 
the  Lord  of  Sabaoth,  and  My  name  is  terrible  among  the  hea- 
then." 


THE  JEWS  MD  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH 


PROFESSOR  DR.  E.  W.  HENGSTENBERG. 


THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHEISTIAN  CHURCH. 


I  THE  TEACHING  OF  THE  CHURCH  ON  THIS 
SUBJECT 

It  was  the  universal  conviction  of  the  Christian  Church,  at  an 
earUer  period,  that  the  hardness  displayed  by  the  Jews  in 
respect  of  the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  was  only 
temporary.  It  had  taken  truly  to  heart  those  words  of  the 
Apostle  of  the  Gentiles — "  if  thou  wert  cut  out  of  the  ohve- 
tree,  which  is  wild  by  nature,  and  wert  grafFed  contrary  to 
nature  into  a  good  olive-tree  ;  how  much  more  shall  these 
which  be  the  natural  branches,  be  grafFed  into  their  own  olive- 
tree."  With  perfect  justice  Spener  remarks,  "  The  Christian 
Church  in  all  ages  has  believed  in  such  an  admirable  conver- 
sion of  the  Jews,  and  not  more  than  one  or  two  of  the  old 
fathers  can  be  mentioned,  who  called  this  in  question."*  To 
represent  the  age  of  the  Church  Fathers,  we  may  introduce 
St.  Ambrosius.  In  the  last  chapter  of  his  ^^'ork  on  the  Patri- 
arch Joseph,  he  says,  "in  the  last  ages  Christ  will  take  to 
Himself  the  Jewish  nation,  when  it  has  attained  old  age  and  has 
become  weary,  not  however  for  its  own  merits,  but  according 
tc  the  election  of  grace.  He  will  lay  His  hand  on  its  eyes 
and  take  away  its  blindness.  He  has  delayed  to  heal  it,  so 
that  as  it  has  fancied  that  it  ought  not  to  believe,  it  might  be 
the  last  to  believe,  and  might  thus  lose  the  advantage  of  the 
prior  election."-f- 

♦  "Behauptung  der  Hoffnung  zukiinftiger  bessercr  Zeiten,"  Frankfurt,  1693. 
S.  327. 

t  Oipp.  ed.  Venet.  1781  t.  1  p.  4.')2.     "Ilic  senilis  jam  a;tatis  et  fessum  susci- 
pict  ultiniis  tciiii>oril)u.s  pi!])tihnn  Jiulaeoruin,  non  secundum  illiiis  merita,  sed 


414  THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

WithTespect  to  Luther,  Walch  remarks*  "His  opinions  on 
the  conversion  of  the  Jews,  were  not  always  ox  the  same  cast. 
At  first,  he  thought  that  it  was  to  be  looked  for  and  expected : 
but  latterly  he  did  not  hesitate  to  cast  away  such  hopes." 

At  the  commencement  of  his  career,  Luther  cherished  this 
precious  hope  of  the  Church  with  an  energy  seldom  equalled. 
He  had  drawn  it  not  merely  from  the  traditions  of  the  Church, 
but  also,  nay  cliiefly,  from  a  living  intercourse  with  the  Scrip- 
tures, especially  with  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  so  highly 
prized  by  him.  A  conviction  possessed  him  that  in  his  own 
day,  and  through  his  own  efforts,  the  Church  had  received 
into  its  hands  new  means  for  the  crushing  of  the  obduracy 
of  the  Jews.  He  was  disposed  to  find  the  secret  of  the 
fruitlessness  of  earlier  attempts,  not  in  the  character  of  the 
Jews  themselves,  but  in  the  heartlessness  of  Christians  and  the 
perversity  of  the  means  employed  by  them.  Nor  did  Luther 
content  himself  with  a  mere  theory.  Freshly  and  joyfully  he 
put  his  hand  to  the  work,  expecting  success  with  the  gi-eater 
confidence,  as  the  blessing  of  the  Lord  had  so  clearly  attended 
his  preaching  of  the  pure  Gospel  in  other  quarters,  and  as 
everywhere  else  God  appeared  to  be  fulfilling  the  declaration — 
"  behold  the  winter  has  departed,  the  rain  is  past  and  gone. 
The  flowers  spring  forth  in  the  land,  spring  has  arrived,  and 
the  voice  of  the  turtle-doves  may  be  heard  in  our  land." 

Of  this  mood  of  Luther,  the  most  important  memorial  is 
the  work  published  in  1523,  under  the  title,  "Tliat  Jesus 
Christ  is  a  born  Jew."  This  was  strictly  speaking,  a  tractate 
intended  to  exercise  an  influence  on  the  Jews.  Justus  Jonas, 
who  translated  it  into  Latin,  in  order  that  it  might  be  circu- 
lated throughout  the  whole  world,  concludes  his  preface,  with 
the  following  words,  which  accurately  describe  the  tendency 
of  the  work  ; — "  Let  us  pray  for  this  people,  especially  con- 
sidering that  not  all  in  our  midst  are  Christians,  who  bear  the 
name  of  Christ.  Would  God  that  our  work  with  the  Jews 
might  prosper  as  it  has  done  elsewhere  ;  for  wonderful  and 
glorious  indeed  have  been  the  efiects  produced  by  the  word 

secundum  electionem  gratise  :  et  imponet  manus  super  oculos  ejus,  ut  caecitatera 
anferat.     Cujus  ideo  disiulit  sanitatem  ut  postremus  crederet,  qui  ante  non  put- 
avit  esse  credendum,  et  prajrogativam  superioris  electionis  amitteret." 
*  Luther's  Werke.    Th.  20,,  S  91. 


THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.       415 

of  God,  in  the  very  short  time  during  which  it  has  been 
preached."* 

To  give  some  notion  of  Luther's  views  and  feehngs  at  this 
time,  we  wdll  quote  some  of  the  most  characteristic  utterances 
of  the  treatise  referred  to. 

"  Our  fools,  the  popes,  bishops,  sophists  and  monks,  those 
coarse  asses-heads,  have  hitlierto  proceeded  with  the  Jews  in 
such  a  fashion,  that  he  who  was  a  good  Christian  might  well 
have  desired  to  become  a  Jew.  And  if  I  had  been  a  Jew  and 
had  seen  the  Christian  faith  governed  and  taught  by  such 
blockheads  and  dolts,  I  should  sooner  have  become  a  hog  than 
a  Christian.  For  they  have  treated  the  Jews  as  though  they 
were  dogs  and  not  men :  they  have  been  able  to  do  nothing 
but  scoff  at  them,  and  seize  their  property  :  when  they  were 
baptized,  they  showed  them  neither  true  Christian  doctrine 
nor  life,  but  simply  subjected  them  to  popery  and  monkery. 
My  hope  is,  that  if  we  act  kindly  towards  the  Jews,  and  in- 
struct them  tenderly  out  of  the  Holy  Scriptnres,  many  of 
them  will  become  genuine  Christians,  and  so  return  to  the 
faith  of  their  fathers,  the  Prophets  and  Patriarchs.  But  we 
shall  only  frighten  them  further  away  therefrom,  by  utterly 
rejecting  their  views  of  things,  allowing  nothing  to  be  right, 
and  treating  themselves  with  haughtiness  and  contempt.  If 
the  Apostles,  who  also  were  Jews,  had  acted  towards  us,  the 
heathen,  as  w^e,  the  heathen,  act  towards  the  Jews,  never  a 
heathen  would  have  become  a  Christian.  Inasmuch  then  as 
they  treated  us  heathens  in  so  brotherly  a  manner,  we  ought 
to  treat  the  Jews  in  a  brotherly  way,  if  so  be  that  some  may 
be  converted.  And  be  it  remembered,  we  are  ourselves  not 
all  up  to  the  point,  much  less  far  advanced.  My  request  and 
advice  therefore  is,  to  go  gently  to  work  with  them,  and  so  to 
instruct  them  from  the  Scriptures,  that  some  perchance  may 
be  drawn  in.  But  if  we- only  use  force,  and  go  about  with 
lying  and  defamatory  stories,  and  charge  them  with  having 
Christian  blood  if  they  do  not  stink,  and  I  know'  not  what 
fool's  work  besides  ;  if  we  hold  them  at  once  to  be  dogs,  what 
good  can  we  possibly  do  them  ?  Furthermore,  if  we  forbid 
them  to  labour  and  work  amongst  us,  and  to  join  with  us  in 

•  W.  W.     Th.  20,  S  2266. 


416  THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

other  pursuits  of  men,  thus  driving  them  to  usury  and  the 
like,  what  the  better  do  we  make  them  ?  If  we  mean  to  help 
them,  we  must  put  into  operation  towards  them,  not  the  laws 
of  the  pope,  but  of  Christian  love,  we  must  receive  them 
friendly,  let  them  trade  and  work  with  us,  so  that,  having 
cause  and  opportunity  to  be  with  us  and  about  us,  they  may 
hear  and  see  our  Christian  doctrine  and  life.  Though  some 
remain  stiff-necked,  what  doth  it  matter  ?  Are  we  all  of  us 
true  Christians  ?  Here  however  I  will  leave  the  matter,  till 
I  see  how  my  work  prosper.  God  grant  us  all  His  gi-ace. 
Amen." 

The  same  spirit  of  hearty  love  to  the  Jews  is  breathed  by 
Luther's  letter  to  Bernhard,  a  converted  Jew.*  There,  also, 
he  expresses  his  confident  hope  that  the  newly  shming  light 
of  the  Gospel  will  irradiate  them  also.  He  says,  "  because 
the  inestimable  light  of  the  Gospel  is  now  arising,  and  shed- 
ding its  bright  rays  all  around,  we  cherish  the  hope  that 
many  of  the  Jews  "v\nll  be  sincerely  and  honestly  converted, 
and  be  drawn  to  Christ  with  their  whole  heart,  like  yourself 
and  some  others,  who  are  the  remnant  of  the  seed  of  Abra- 
ham." 

But  the  thing  turned  out  quite  differently  from  Luther's 
expectation.  Here  and  there,  it  is  true,  a  Jew  was  won  over 
to  the  faith.  But,  on  the  whole,  the  Reformation  proved 
itself  unable  to  overcome  the  hardness  of  the  Jewish  heart. 
Nay  more,  Luther  himself  lived  to  witness  several  conversions 
to  Judaism.  This  latter  fact  is  touched  upon  by  him  in  the 
letter  against  the  "  Sabbathites,"  addressed  to  one  of  his  friends 
in  the  year  1 538.-f  He  says,  "  you  inform  me  that  here  and 
there  in  different  parts,  the  Jews  gain  ground  with  their  filth 
and  doctrine,  and  that  some  Christians  even,  have  been  carried 
away  to  allow  themselves  to  be  circumcised."  He  alludes  to 
the  same  subject  again  in  his  work  on  "the  Jews  and  their 
lies,"  published  in  1543. 

"  I  have  issued  this  little  book  because,  as  I  understand,  these 
wretched  reprobates  do  not  cease  their  efforts  to  allure  even 
us  Christians  into  their  ways.  I  should  never  have  deemed 
it  possible  for  a  Christian  to  let  himself  so  be  made  a  fool  of 

•  W.  W.,  Th.  20,  S  2268.         f  W.  W..  Th.  20,  S  2272. 


THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.  41 7 

by  Jews,  as  to  be  persuaded  to  share  their  misery  and  wretch- 
edness." 

Then  Luther  felt  himself  stirred  by  a  burning  wrath a 

^VTath  which  in  its  dee])est  roots  was  divine,  and^of  tlie  same 
nature  as  that  displayed  by  St.  John,  when,  in  his  zeal  against 
the  Jews,  he  says,  "  those  who  say  they  are  Jews,  and  are  not, 
but  are  of  the  school  of  Satan,"  (Apocalypse  ii.  9  ;  iii.  9.) 
Moses  felt  the  same  indignation  when  he  grew  furious  at  the 
sight  of  Israel's  idolatry,  and  cast  the  tables  out  of  his  hand 
and  brake  them  beneatli  the  Mount.  Luther's  anger  was  that 
of  despised  love, — not  his  own  human  love,  but  the  love  of 
his  Lord :— it  was  the  anger  which  made  Stephen  cry  out  in 
the  Sanhedrim,  "  ye  stiff-necked  and  uncircumcised  in  heart 
and  ears,  ye  do  always  resist  the  Holy  Si)irit  ;  as  were  your 
fathers,  so  are  ye." 

Let  us  bring  to  view  this  later  mood  of  Luther's  mind  by 
means  of  a  few  verbal  extracts  from  his  wiitings. 

In  his  work  on   "  Shem   Hamphoras,"*  Luther  says "  to 

convert  the  Jews  is  about  as  possible  as  to  convert  the  devil. 
A  Jewish  heart  is  so  stone,  iron,  devil-hard  and  callous,  that 
there  is  no  way  at  all  of  moving  it.  In  fine,  they  are  young 
devils,  damned  to  heU.  And  if  there  be  anything  human  left 
in  them,  .such  a  work  may  prove  of  use  and  profit.      But  of 

the  whole  mass  of  them,  he  may  cherish   hope  who  likes, I 

have  no  hopes,  nor  do  the  Scriptures  speak  of  any.  Some 
draw  from  the  Eleventh  Chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans, 
a  fancy  that  all  the  Jews  wiU  be  converted  at  the  end  of  the 
world,  but  it  is  all  nought.  St.  Paul  means  quite  a  different 
thing." 

"  The  Jews  are  a  hard  people,"  says  Luther,  in  his  "  Table 
Talk."  "  Then  answered  one,  but  still  is  it  not  written  that 
the  Jews  shall  be  converted  before  the  last  judgment  ?  Dr. 
Luther  spake  :  where  is  it  written  ?  I  know  of  no  clear  and 
certain  declaration.  Some,  it  is  true,  bring  one  from  Romans 
xi;  but  from  that  nothing  can  be  proved.  Then  said  his 
wife — '  and  there  shall  be  one  fold  and  one  shepherd.'  Yes, 
replied  the  Doctor,  dear  Kate,  that  took  place  when  the 
heathen  were  converted  to  the  Gosi)el."f 


*  W.  W.,  Th.  20,  S  2.528..^  t  S  2315. 

2  D 


418  THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

In  liis  book  on  "  The  Jews  and  their  lies,"  Luther  says — 
"  Much  less  do  I  go  about  with  the  notion  that  the  Jews  are 
to  be  converted.  That  is  impossible*  For  consider,  how  is 
it  that  we  poor  Christians  come  to  nourish  and  make  rich  such 
a  rotten  and  lazy  people,  such  blasphemous  enemies  of  God, 
and  all  for  nothing  :  for  we  get  nothing  for  our  pains  but 
curses,  blasphemy,  and  all  manner  of  misfortune,  that  they  can 
bring  upon  us  or  wish  us.-f*  Burn  their  synagogues,  then, 
force  them  to  work,  and  treat  them  with  all  unmercifulness."^: 

Quite  as  strong  expressions  may  be  found  in  the  "  ad- 
monition against  the  Jews,  with  which  Luther  concluded  the 
four  sermons  delivered  at  Eisleben,  shortly  before  his  depar- 
ture from  this  life,  in  the  year  1546."||  Amongst  other  things 
he  says  there,  "  Tlius  is  it,  then,  with  the  Jews — they  do 
nought  but  blaspheme  and  revile  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  every 
day.  If  we  know  that  they  do  this,  we  ought  not  to  suffer 
it.  For  if  I  tolerate  him  near  me,  who  reviles,  blasphemes, 
and  curses  my  Lord  Christ,  I  make  myself  a  partaker  of  other 
men's  sins,  whilst  at  the  very  time  I  have  quite  enough  to  do 
with  mine  own.  Therefore,  ye  lords  should  not  suffer  them, 
but  drive  them  away.  In  case,  however,  they  become  con- 
verted, quit  their  usury,  and  accept  Christ  in  sincerity,  then 
will  we  cheerfully  regard  them  as  our  brothers.  Otherwise 
nothing  can  be  done  with  them  :  for  they  are  too  bold,  they 
are  publicly  our  enemies,  they  do  not  cease  to  blaspheme  our 
Lord  Christ,  they  style  the  virgin  Mary  a  whore,  and  Christ 
Himself  a  whoreson,  and  call  them  changelings  ; — if  they 
could  kill  us  all  they  would  gladly  do  so — nay,  some  of  them 
do  it  often,  particularly  such  as  pretend  to  be  physicians.  I 
put  myself  under  the  protection  of  the  Son  of  God,  whom  I 
hold  to  be  my  Lord,  and  honour  as  such.  To  Him  I  must 
run  and  flee  when  the  devil,  or  sin,  or  any  other  evil  sets  upon 
me :  for  He  is  my  shelter  and  covert,  beneath  which  I  am 
safe  against  the  wrath  of  God.  For  such  reasons  am  I  unable 
to  have  fellowship  or  patience  with  the  hardened  blasphemers 
and  revilers  of  this  dear  Saviour." 

The  position  taken  up  by  Luther  tov/ards  the  Jews  in  his 
later  years,  is  well  litted  to  exhibit  and  bring  home  to  us  the 

*  W.  W.,  20,  S  2313.    t  S  2488.   J  S  2509.    U  W.,  S  2630 


THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.  419 

difference  between  him  and  the  Apostles,  and  to  show  what 
a  dangerous  thing  it  would  be  to  submit  ourselves  to  such  a 
master,  unreservedly,  and  without  bringing  his  teachings  to 
the  test  of  Scripture.  We  must  not,  however,  forget  that  in 
Luther's  time,  the  Jews  behaved  very  differently  from  the  pre- 
sent day,  when  their  hatred  and  their  love  alike  has  been 
shorn  of  its  strength  by  unbelief,  when  the  interest  in  money 
and  property  has  swallowed  up  every  other  care.  It  is  diffi- 
cult now  to  represent  to  our  minds  the  diabolical  hatred  of 
Christ  and  Christians,  which  filled  the  elder  Jews.  Nothing 
can  be  more  unjust  than  to  represent  them  as  sufferers,  and 
persecuted.  What  they  had  to  endure  was  in  general  but  the 
reaction  against  the  fanatical  animosity  which  flamed  in  their 
own  hearts.  It  is  related  of  a  proselyte,  even  of  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  Israel  Levi,  the  history  of  whose  con- 
version is  peculiarly  interesting,*  that  "  the  recollections  of  his 
youth  frequently  filled  him  with  sore  repentance.  He  re- 
membered how  at  Christmas,  when  the  Catholics  went  to  their 
churches  at  twelve  o'clock  at  night,  he,  with  other  Jewish 
children,  played  according  to  their  custom  round  a  wooden 
image  which  represented  the  executed  one,  namely,  Jesus  the 
crucified  One  :  and  how  they  tore  and  broke  off  one  limb  after 
the  other,  untU  their  play  was  ended."  Whenever  he  thougiit 
of  these  scenes,  he  exclaimed — "  Oh  !  what  great  and  fearful 
sins  do  the  Jews  commit  !  May  God  have  mercy  on  them  !" 
AMien  Luther  introduces  into  the  Scriptures,  whose  end  and 
aim  is  everywhere  to  strengthen  our  sinking  courage,  the  des- 
pair of  the  conversion  of  the  Jews  felt  by  himself ;  when  he 
sets  aside  the  clear  and  evident  testimony  to  the  future  con- 
version of  the  Jews  borne  by  the  Scriptures,  he  is  undoubt- 
edly not  to  be  commended  ;  but  still,  what  he  did  in  his  day 
is  to  be  judged  otherwise  than  if  it  were  done  at  the  present 
day.  Up  to  Luther's  time,  the  principle  of  allegorical  inter- 
pretation prevailed  in  tjie  Church,  and  the  result  thereof  was, 
that  in  explaining  the  Scriptures,  men  were  governed  by  in- 
clination, and  found  in  them  that,  and  that  only,  which  agreed 
with  their  wishes.  Luther  did,  it  is  true,  overthrow  the 
principle,  as  a  principle  ;  but  he  was  not  able  to  uproot  the 

*  Steccr  "  die  cvangelisehc  Judenmission,"  S  80, 


420  THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

practice,  either  for  himself  or  for  others.  Heiice,  as  soon  as 
his  hopes  concerning  Israel  seemed  visionary,  he  almost  un- 
avoidably ceased  to  be  able  to  lean  confidently  on  those  parts 
of  Scripture  which  relate  to  this  matter.  Only  by  degrees 
could  that  leaven  of  allegorical  arbitrariness  be  cast  out,  by 
the  principle  of  literal  or  grammatical  interpretation  which 
Luther  brought  into  vogue.  The  result  of  the  introduction  of 
the  principle  has  happily  been,  to  take  away  from  tlie  exposi- 
tion of  Scripture,  the  character  of  subjectiveness  which  it  pre- 
viously bore,  and,  in  the  Scriptures  themselves,  to  give  every 
one  who  does  not  wilfully  refuse  to  avail  himself  of  the  benefits 
of  this  progressive  step,  an  objective  corrective  of  his  own  in- 
clination or  fancy. 

It  cannot  but  be  acknowledged  that,  in  his  anger  at  the 
hardness  of  heart  shown  by  the  Jews,  and  in  the  energy  of 
his  zeal  for  the  honour  of  Christ,  Luther  took  up  a  one-sided 
point  of  view,  which  needs  to  be  supplemented  by  an  equally 
strong  recognition  of  the  compassion  and  love  of  God  fur  the 
"  sons  of  the  kingdom."  But  still  unquestionably  there  was 
more  truth  to  facts  in  this  view  of  Luther's,  than  in  tlie  efforts 
put  fortli  in  more  recent  times  by  many  of  the  friends  of 
Israel.  These  latter  seem  to  fancy  it  possible  to  flatter  that 
wretched  people  into  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  they  have  no  just 
or  sufficient  feeling  of  the  terrible  guilt  resting  upi)n  it,  and 
are  incapable  of  awakening  a  consciousness  thei'eof;  they  for- 
get that  the  object  of  first  moment  is  to  produce  in  them  that 
"great  mourning"  to  which  Zechariah  alludes,  (see  chap.  xii. 
11  ;)  they  strengthen  and  uphold  the  "old  man"  of  the  Jews 
by  drawing  the  attention  away  from  the  duty  of  repentance 
to  the  high  prerogatives  which  are  supposed  to  belong  to  the 
nation,  and  by  exciting  them  to  imagine  that  it  is  their  des- 
tiny and  vocation  to  be  the  spiritual  aristocracy  of  the  Christian 
Church;  and  consequently,  their  endeavours,  if  tliey  effect  any- 
thing at  all,  must  end  in  turning,  not  Jews  into  Christians,  but 
Jewish  Jews  into  Christian  Jews,  or  into  Jewish  Christians, 
Luther  had  a  deep  and  clear  insight  into  the  spirit  of  the  Jews. 
We  find  in  his  "  Table  Talk," — "  Luther  was  reading  a  Hebrew 
book,  andwasverygreatlyjistonished  at  its  audacity  and  haughti- 
ness. It  displayed  no  knowledge  of  Scripture,  but  was  filled 
with  vain  boasts  of  dead  privileges      They   have   no   urider- 


TJIE  JEWS  AND  TI!K  (illllSTIAN  CHURCH.  421 

standing  of  God's  grace,  nor  of  the  rigliteousness  of  faith,  how 
God  is  merciful  from  simple  grace  for  Christ's  sake,  andhow 
liiith  in  Christ  makes  men  pious  and  blessed.  Concerning 
such  things  they  know  less  than  nothing  ;  and  they  wish  to  be 
holy  by  nature  and  in  virtue  of  descent."  What  a  dangerous 
thing  therefore  it  must  be  to  flatter  this  self-conceited,  pre- 
tentious "  old  man"  of  the  Jews,  as  it  is  flattered,  by  such 
assertions  as  the  following,  contained  in  the  work  entitled, 
"  Der  Jude  von  Alfred  Meyers,"  (translated  from  the  English), 
"All  the  Prophets  promise  this  nation  a  position  of  privilege 
and  honour  in  the  kingdom  of  Immanuel ;"  "  The  day  of 
Israel's  conversion  will  be  the  day  of  Messiah's  coronation  ;" 
"  converted  Jews  are  the  only  successful  missionaries  to  the 
heathen  world  ;"  "  Jehovah  has  conferred  on  the  Jews  the 
privilege  of  royalty  ;"  and  many  others  of  a  like  nature.  Even 
if  these  views  were  correct  it  would  be  very  injudicious,  very 
unpedagogic,  to  commence  the  missionary  work  amongst  Jews 
with  their  announcement.  Eveiy  means  should  rather  be 
employed  to  turn  away  their  hearts  from  the  meditation  of 
such  things,  which,  of  necessity,  concern  them  not,  so  long  as 
they  remain  what  they  are,  and  to  lead  them  down  into  the 
depths  of  repentance  and  of  supplication  for  mercy. 

A.  von  Oettingen,  in  his  work  entitled,  Die  Synagogale 
Elegik  des  Volkes  Israel,  published  at  Dorpat  in  1853,* — a 
work  which  concedes  more  to  the  Jews  than,  according  to  our 
convictions,  is  warranted  by  the  Scriptures,  rightly  understood, 
— says,  with  perfect  justice,  "  One  point  remains  to  be  urged 
on  the  attention  of  our  readers, — one,  too,  which  should  be 
more  earnestly  impressed  on  the  mind  of  the  present  genera- 
tion, than  even  the  care  against  a  proud  self-exaltation  above  the 
curse-laden  nation  to  which  Christians  were  once  prone.  In- 
stead thereof  we  see  now  an  anti  scriptural  disposition  to  effect 
an  apotheosis  of  the  Israelites.  Regarding  exclusively  their 
destiny  to  redemption.  Christians  fall  into  the  mistake,  of  either 
forgetting  entirely,  or  putting  into  the  background,  their  terrible 
crimes.  They  cover  over  everything,  yea,  even  the  disgrace 
of  Christ!  with  the  mantle  of  love,  and  speak  only  of  the 
thankfulness  we  owe  to  this  great  and  noble  people,  of  the 
sympathy  we  ought  to  have  with  it  in  its  sufferings  and  innu- 

»  S.  167,  168 


422  THE   JEWS  AND    THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

merable  persecutions,  of  the  benefits  which  it  has  been  the  means 
of  conferring  on  all  humanity,  of  the  blessings  which  it  will 
bring  to  the  Church  as  the  result  of  its  vocation,  and  of  the 
glorification  awaiting  its  divinely  chosen  nationality,  as  con- 
trasted with  all  other  peoples,  when  it  shall  lay  the  topstone 
to  the  perfection  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  (v.  Oettingen  proves 
and  illustrates  his  statements  by  quotations  from  the  writings 
of  Gaussen,  M'Caul,  Begg,  and  others.)  All  this  is,  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  justifiable  ;  but  it  must  not  be  pressed  too  far. 
There  is  a  danger  of  forgettiug  the  sacredness  of  that  anger  of 
God  which  rests  on  the  Jews,  because  of  the  one  great  and 
still  enduring  sin  :  it  is  forgotten  that  their  misery  is  to  be 
regarded  as  a  judgment  inflicted  on  them  by  God,  and  not 
merely  as  the  fruit  of  "  the  arbitrariness  and  cruelty  of  men," 
who  do  but  in  many  cases  serve  as  instruments  in  a  higher 
hand :  and  lastly,  "  men  with  such  views  fix  their  thoughts, 
Kke  the  Jews  themselves,  in  an  external  way,  on  the  glories  of 
the  future,  instead  of  preaching  to  them  of  the  pi-esent,  i.e., 
instead  of  bringing  home  to  them,  chiefly  and  repeatedly,  the 
sin  of  rejecting  the  Lord,  and  showing  the  curse  of  the  present 
to  be  the  divine  answer  thereto." 

In  connection  with  Luther,  we  must  draw  attention  to  an- 
other remarkable  fact.  In  his  Church-postil,*  Luther  had  said, 
"  It  is  certain,  then,  that  the  Jews  wiU  yet  say  to  Christ, 
'  Blessed  be  he  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.'"  Moses 
has  declared  the  same  thing,  (see  Deuteronomy  iv.  30,  81  ; 
Hosea  iii.  4,  5  ;  and  Azariah  in  2  Chronicles  xv.  2-")).  These 
sayings  may  not  be  understood  by  the  Jews  of  the  present 
day.  In  former  times  they  were  never  yet  without  princes, 
without  prophets,  without  priests,  without  teacher,  and  law. 
St.  Paul,  in  Romans  xi.  25,  26,  agTees  therewith,  and  says, 
"  Blindness  in  part  is  happened  to  Israel,  until  the  fulness  of 
the  Gentiles  be  come  in.  And  so  all  Israel  shall  be  saved,  as 
it  is  written,  there  shall  come  out  of  Zion  the  deliverer,  and 
shall  turn  away  ungodliness  from  Jacob.  God  grant  that  the 
time  may  be  nearer  than  we  hope!"  So  run  the  words,  both 
in  the  older  editions,  and  also  in  those  which  appeared  in  1543 
and  1544.  Luther  evidently  hesitated,  and  was  fearful  of 
altering  them :   a  feehng  stirred  within  him  that,  as  regards 

*  W.  W.  11.     S.  299. 


THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.  423 

his  present  views,  he  might  possibly  be  on  the  wrong  path. 
His  disciples  were  bolder.  In  the  very  first  edition  which  was 
published  after  his  death,  in  the  year  1547,  we  find  that  every- 
thing is  omitted  which  referred  to  the  future  conversion  of  the 
Jews  :  and  not  merely  that,  but  they  inserted  opinions  to  the 
contrary,  in  the  place  of  what  was  expunged.  In  one  place 
we  read  the  alteration,  "  These  sayings  all  speak  of  the  last 
days,  when  the  Jewish  kingdom  and  the  true  priesthood  should 
cease  ;  and  teach  us  that,  nevertheless,  many  Jews  would  be 
afterwards  converted  to  Christ,  the  true  King  and  Priest :  and 
this  took  place  after  the  ascension  of  Christ,  first  by  means  of 
the  apostles,  and  subsequently  through  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel." 

In  tlie  Lutheran  Church,  however,  the  word  of  God  gained 
the  victory  over  the  authority  of  Luther,  both  in  respect  to 
this  point,  and  to  other  peculiar  opinions  of  his.  Spener 
remarks,  with  perfect  justice  :  "  From  the  time  of  Luther 
onwards,  notwithstanding  that  in  some  places  of  his  writings, 
moved  by  the  sight  of  the  hardness  of  the  nation,  he  expressed 
doubts  thereof,  this  doctrine  has  had  its  place  in  the  Lutheran 
Church,  and  has  been  held  by  its  most  distinguished  teachers. 
I  do  not,  of  course,  deny  that  there  have  been  some  who  called 
the  doctrine  in  question."  The  most  important  of  those  who 
have  held  this  exceptional  view  (for  it  has  been  an  exceptional 
view),  were  Calov,  and  Queusted,  the  author  of  the  work  on 
Dogmatical  Theology.  The  former  explains  the  passage,  Ro- 
mans xi.  25,  to  refer  to  the  conversion  of  individual  Jews, 
w^hich  has  been  going  on  in  all  ages  since  the  days  of  the. 
apostles,  and  will  go  on  to  the  end  of  the  world,  "  omni  tem- 
pore ex  Israele  nonnulli."  See  also  Quensted's  Works,  vol.  iv,, 
p.  11 G.  During  the  time  of  the  rule  of  Cliurch  orthodoxy, 
however,  the  influence  of  Luther's  authority  is  almost  every- 
where perceivable,  in  so  lar  as  the  doctrine  was  much  less  con- 
fidently and  cheerfully  aftirmed  than  it  would  have  been  apart 
from  this  influence.  The  remark*  just  made  is  illustrated  by 
the  case  of  Joh.  Gerhard.  It  Wiis  Spener's  merit,  as  also, 
indeed,  of  the  Pietistic  school  in  general,  fully  to  reanimate  in 
the  Church  the  hope  of  the  future  conversion  of  the  Jews.  A 
new  impulse  was  thus  given  to  missionary  efforts  ;  and  various 
other  results  have  also  followed.     At  the  same  time  Spener 


424  THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHKISTIAN  CHURCH. 

gave '  that  limitation  to  the  hope,  which  is  necessary  in  order 
to  prevent  our  being  led  to  the  most  dangerous  conclusions. 
He  remarks  elsewhere :  "  Blindness  is  said  to  have  happened 
to  Israel,  because  by  far  the  gTeater  part  of  the  nation  remained 
in  their  error,  although  many  thousands  had  been  converted, 
and  the  number  of  the  latter  was  not  to  be  compared  to  that 
of  the  former :  so  also  when  it  is  said  that  all  Israel  will  be 
converted,  it  means  that  the  greatest  part  will  be  converted ; 
and  although  some  will  continue  hardened,  they  are  not  to  be 
compared,  in  point  of  numbers,  with  those  who  renounce  their 
error." 

The  hope  of  the  future  salvation  of  Israel,  cherished  in  all 
ages  by  the  Church,  has  taken,  in  the  present  century,  a  pe- 
culiar form,  amongst  a  not  unimportant  section  of  the  believ- 
ing Christians  of  England  and  Scotland,*  which,  since  then, 
has  found  many  adherents  in  Germany,  and  especially  in  WUr- 
temberg.  They  were  not  satisfied  with  the  clear  teachings  of 
Scripture,  concerning  the  future  conversion  of  Israel,  and  its 
blessed  influence  on  the  Church  as  a  whole,  but  went  so  far  as 
to  constitute  the  converted  Jews  almost  the  sole  agents  in 
effecting  the  redemption  of  the  Church  of  the  future,  thus 
doing  dishonour  to  Christ.  The  past  and  present  of  the  Church 
were  almost  completely  cast  into  the  shade  in  comparison  with 
this  future :  in  consequence  of  a  slavish  adherence  to  the 
letter,  they  worked  themselves  into  enthusiasm  for  the  return 
of  the  Jews  to  Palestine  ;  and  they  dreamed  of  the  extension 
of  the  Holy  Land,  of  the  rebuilding  of  the  Temple  of  Jerusa- 
•lem,  and  of  the  re-establishment  of  the  Levitical  Cultus.  The 
details  of  these  hopes  were  carried  out  in  the  most  insipid  and 
prosaic  manner,  to  such  a  point,  indeed,  as  sometimes  to  sur- 
pass even  the  Rabbins,  to  the  disgust  of  all  who  have  but 
sipped  of  a  deeper  vmderstanding  of  prophecy. 

Opposition  to  these  errors,  in  conjunction  with  an  over  esti- 
mate of  the  authority  of  Luther,  has  recently  led  away  a  Lu- 
theran Synod  in  America  entirely  to  renounce,  and  even  eccle- 
siastically to  repudiate,  the  precious  hope  of  the  future  restora- 
tion of  the  Jews,  Avhich  the  Church  has  cherished,  and  which 

*  It  must  not,  however,  be  forgotten,  that  this  is,  after  all,  only  the  view  of  a 
party — a  party,  too,  which  by  no  means  predominates,  eswecially  in  the  Episcopal 
Church. 


THK  JEWS  AND  THE  (HUISTrAN  CIIURCH.  425 

occasioned  the  apostle  Paul,  in  Romans  xi.  33,  f,  to  praise  so 
enthusiastically  the  depth  of  the  riches  of  God.  In  the 
"  Transactions  of  the  Second  Sessions  of  the  Western  District 
of  the  German  Evangelical  Lutheran  Synod  of  Missouri,  Ohio,  'X' 
and  other  States,  in  the  year  1  85G,"  the  following  resolution  is 
recorded  (page  '2d):  "  We  reject  as  un biblical,  and  as  leading 
to  false  Chiliastic  views  of  the  Church,  the  doctrine  based  on  Ro- 
mans xi.  25,  26,  and  other  passages,  that  a  universal,  or  even 
such  a  specially  numerous,  conversion  of  the  Jews,  as  has  never 
hitherto  been  witnessed,  must  be  expected,  and  will  take  place, 
before  the  last  judgment."  In  support  of  this  resolution  the 
following  remark  was  made,  amongst  others :  "  If  it  really  be 
so,  that  all  Jews  are  to  be  saved,  one  might  well  desire  rather 
to  be  a  Jew  than  a  Christian  ;  and,  in  fact,  some  of  the  Lu- 
therans of  New  York,  feeling  this,  have  been  induced  to  become 
Jews,  and  submit  themselves  to  circumcision,  in  the  awfully 
blind  hope  that,  as  Abraham's  seed,  they  should  be  counted 
worthy  of  greater  glory  at  the  re-appearance  of  Christ." 


n.  THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  SCRIPTURES. 

If  we  wish  our  hope  of  the  future  conversion  of  the  Jews 
to  be  built  on  the  firm  foundation  of  the  word  of  God  ;  if  we 
desire  to  avoid  the  danger  of  following  our  own  dreams,  and 
the  sin  of  framing  arbitrary  fancies  ;  if  we  are  minded  to 
escape  shai-ing  the  guilt  of  those  whom  Jeremiah  designates, 
"  Prophets  out  of  their  own  heart,"  the  first  and  most  neces- 
sary thing  to  be  done,  is  to  gain  deeper  insiglit  into  the  Scrip- 
tural idea  of  Israel.  Nothing  is  more  confusing  than  without 
further  inquiry  to  refer  evciything  to  the  Jews  which  the 
Scriptures  say  regarding  Israel.  The  Sci'iptural  conception  of 
Israel  is  a  very  subtle  one,  and  requires  for  it*understanding 
properly  exercised  spiritual  faculties. 

Chr.  A.  Crusius  has  given  quite  the  correct  view  of  this 
idea  in  his  Tlieologia  Prophetica.  He  rejects,  it  is  tnie,  and 
with  perfect  justice,  the  distinction  usually  drawn  by  the  older 
orthodox  theologians  between  Israel  after  the  flesh,  and  Israel 
after  the  spirit,  but  still  considers  the  entire  Christian  Church 
to  be  the  legitimate  continuance  of  Israel.      Views  wanting  in 


426       THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

precisioji,  such  as  those  of  von  Meyer,  who  maintams  that  it  is 
arbitrary  and  unwarranted  to  understand  by  Israel  "  fii'st  the 
JeA^s,  and  then  something  quite  different,"  (page  199),  he  is 
very  far  from  entertain  ing.  He  says,  "  all  true  Christians  are 
reckoned  to  Israel ;  not,  however,  as  though  the  old  Israel,  the 
Israel  properly  so  termed,  were  a  type  of  the  spiritual  Israel, 
of  the  Israel  improperly  so  termed.  Even  the  Old  Israel  of 
God  could  receive  Proselytes  into  its  midst  before  Christ  came, 
and  these  then  constituted  a  part  of  the  nation.  But  since 
Christ's  appearance,  Israel  has  been  extended,  through  the 
reception  of  great  multitudes  of  the  heathen  Avho  have  now 
gTOwn  together  with  it.  Into  this  fellowship  of  the  Church, 
whose  foundation  was  the  believing  portion  of  the  Israelites, 
will  some  day  be  received  the  remainder  of  the  degenerate 
portion." 

According  to  the  constant  teachings  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments  there  is  but  one  Church  of  God,  one  Israel,  one 
house  under  two  administrations,  from  the  days  of  Abraham 
till  the  end  of  the  world.  John  the  Baptist  starts  with  the 
presupposition  that  the  meipbers  of  the  New  Covenant  must 
also  of  necessity  be  the  children  of  Abraham  :  otherwise  God's 
covenant  and  promise  would  come  to  nought.  But  God  can 
raise  up  from  the  stones  children  to  Abraham.  Fleshly  deri- 
vation from  Abraham  did  not,  we  find,  insure  against  the 
dano-er  of  beino-  excluded  from  the  number  of  his  descendants. 
Of  this  Ishmael  was  the  first  example.  And  whenever  a  great 
sin  was  committed,  we  read,  even  in  the  books  of  Moses,  "  this 
soul  was  destroyed  from  the  midst  of  its  people  :" — (to  which 
Peter  warningly  called  the  attention  of  the  Jews  in  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles  iii.  23) : — and  also,  "thou  shalt  destroy  the 
evil  one  from  the  midst  of  Israel"  In  Psalm  Ixxiii.  1,  "Only 
good  is  God  to  Israel,  to  those  who  are  of  a  clean  heart,"  the 
second  clause  limits  Israel  to  the  Election,  to  the  true  Israel- 
ites in  whom  is  no  guile,  and  excludes  "the  false  seed"  re- 
ferred to  by  Isaiah  in  chap.  Ivii.  4.  So  also  when  we  read  in 
Psalm  xxiv.  6,  that,  "  those  who  seek  thy  face  are  Jacob,"  we 
learn  that  those  only  are  the  true  descendants  of  Jacob,  and 
constitute  the  covenant  people,  who  strive  zealously  to  be 
holy  and  to  fulfil  the  good  pleasure  of  God  : — such  alone  are 
under  the  rule,  and  in  the  kingdom,  of  grace.     Furtherniore, 


THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHIUSTIAN  CHURCH,  427 

in  a  great  number  of  passages,  the  iiDgodly  members  of  the 
Jewish  congregation,  in  mockery  of  the  claims  they  put  forth 
on  the  gi-ound  of  their  external  connection  therewith,  are 
styled  heathen,  or  uncircumcised,  or  specially  Canaanites,  or 
the  name  of  some  other  Gentile  nation  is  applied  to  them  (see 
Jeremiah  iv.  -i  ;  ix.  25  ;  Isaiah  i.  10  ;  Ezekiel  xvi.  3).  And 
as  it  was  possible  for  the  natural  sons  to  be  excluded,  so 
is  it  possible  for  God,  in  His  unbounded  freedom,  to  give  to 
Abraham,  in  the  place  of  the  fleshly  sons  who  have  failed,  sons 
of  adoption  unnumbered,  who  shall  sit  down  with  him  and 
Isaac  and  Jacob  at  table  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  whilst  the 
sons  of  the  kingdom  are  shut  out.  Sonship  is  essentially  a 
relation  to  persons,  such  as  Abraham,  the  friend  of  God  (Isaiah 
xli.  8),  and  Israel,  who  strove  with  God  by  prayers  and  tears 
(Hosea  xii.  5) :  it  does  not  consist  exclusively,  or  even  princi- 
pally, LQ  the  participation  in  a  particular  physical  nature. 
Wliat  a  subordinate  element  this  latter  is,  we  are  taught  very 
clearly,  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  b}^  the 
example  of  Ishmael,  whom  Abraham  sent  away  from  his  house 
without  hesitation  ;  and  also  by  the  case  of  the  sons  of  Ke- 
thurah,  whom  Abraham  "  sent  away  from  his  son  Isaac  (while 
he  yet  lived)  eastward,  into  the  east  country,"  (Genesis  xxv. 
G).  And  when  the  Scriptures  expressly  tell  us  that  Isaac 
only  was  in  the  true  sense  Abraham's  son,  they  teach  us  the 
same  thing  (Genesis  xxi.  12).  Physical  derivation  from 
Abraham  is  only  of  importance  when  the  "  glory"  of  the  an- 
cestor, that  is,  his  close  and  intimate  relationship  to  God,  is 
reflected  and  reproduced  in  the  descendant.  Even  if  an  abso- 
lute union  and  connection  be  eflected  only  in  this  most  essential 
aspect,  if  the  sonship  be  merely  a  spiritual  one,  we  may  speak 
in  the  fullest  and  deepest  sense  of  a  relationship  of  family. 
The  widest  use  is  made  in  Scripture  of  the  spiritual  father- 
hood. "Sons  of  God"  are  the  pious  designated  even  in 
Genesis  vi.  2.  To  the  blessing  of  Jacob  recorded  in  Genesis 
xlix.,  that  which  Moses  pronounced  in  Deuteronomy  xxxiii, 
as  the  spiritual  father  of  Israel,  forms  the  side-piece.  Those 
who  received  a  portion  of  the  Spirit  which  stirred  in  the  most 
eminent  pi'ophets,  were  styled  "  Sons  of  the  Prophets."  Isaiah 
calls  the  first  High  Priest,  Aaron,  the  first  Father  of  Israel 
"  My  Father,  my  Father,"  cried  Joash,  the  King  of  Israel,  to 


428  THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

Elislia  (2  Kings  xiii.  1 4).      Peter  writes  of  Mark  as  of  his  son. 
And  much  else  of  the  same  nature  might  be  adduced. 

From  the  very  commencement  the  Church  of  God  was  in- 
tended to  consist  not  merely  of  the  naturally  born  descendants 
of  the  Patriarchs,  but  also  of  spiritual  descendants  :  the  prin- 
ciple of  graffing,  of  adoption,  set  forth  l^y  the  Apostle  Paul  in 
Romans  xi.  24,  was  intended  to  be  carried  out  in  it.  In  the 
first  century  of  the  existence  of  the  Church  of  God  the  sons 
by  adoption  were  far  more  numerous  than  the  actual  sons. 
Abraham  was  commanded  to  circumcise  his  servants,  who  were 
numbered  by  hundreds,  that  is,  to  dispense  to  them  the  sacra- 
ment which  involved  their  becoming  sharers  of  all  the  rights 
and  privileges  of  the  people  of  God.  We  see  plainly  that  at 
the  very  earliest  period  born  heathens  were  expected  to  be- 
come members  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  from  the  ordinance  of 
Exodus  xii.  44,  that  every  stranger  who  desired  to  eat  with 
them  of  the  Passover  must  first  be  circumcised  ;  which,  of 
course,  implies  that  foreigners  might  share  the  sign  of  the  co- 
venant, as  well  as  the  feast  of  the  covenant,  if  they  wished.  We 
find  also  in  Deuteronomy  xxiii.  1-8,  that  Edomites  and  Egyp- 
tians are  expressly  declared  capable  of  being  admitted  into  the 
congTegation  of  God.  The  practice  of  the  Jews  in  all  ages 
leads  to  the  same  result.  Heathens  were  constantly  received 
into  the  fellowship,  and  to  a  full  share  of  the  privileges,  of 
Israel.  Whenever  the  God  of  Israel  manifested  his  almighty 
power  and  glory  in  a  specially  notable  way,  as  for  example, 
in  the  deliverance  of  the  children  of  Israel  from  the  captivity 
in  Egypt  and  from  that  in  Assyria, — (on  both  which  occa- 
sions, a  hp&t  of  men,  formerly  heathens,  followed  in  the  train 
of  the  Israelites  ;  compare  Nehemiah  x.  28,  who  speaks  of 
*'  all  who  had  separated  themselves  from  the  people  of  the 
land  unto  the  law  of  God,") — or  again,  in  the  marvellous 
deliverance  celebrated  in  the  Book  of  Esther, —  (then  many  of 
the  people  of  the  land  became  Jews,  because  of  the  light  and 
joy  and  gladness  and  honour  which  had  fallen  to  the  lot  of 
God's  people),  such  receptions  took  place  in  large  numbers. 
This  was  the  case  also  in  the  times  which  followed  Alexander 
the  Great,  when  a  sense  of  the  vanity  of  idols  stirred  with 
peculiar  energy  in  the  heathen  world,  and  the  heathenism  of 
Greece  and  Rome  was  growing  old  and  hastening  towards  its 


•        THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.  429 

downfal.  The  prophets  announce  that  a  most  extensive  recep- 
tion of  born  heathens  into  the  fellowship  of  Israel  will  take  place 
in  the  age  of  Messiah,  and  that  all  the  restrictions  which  still 
existed  under  the  Old  Covenant  will  be  abolished.  In  chap, 
xliv.  5,  Isaiah  says,  "One  shall  say,  I  am  the  Lord's;  and 
another  shall  call  himself  by  the  name  of  Jacob  ;  and  another 
shall  write  with  his  hand  'To  the  Lord!'  and  shall  make  his 
boast  in  the  name  of  Israel."  He  says  also  in  chapter  Ivi.  3, 
"  Neither  let  the  son  of  the  stranger  that  hath  joined  himself 
to  the  Lord,  speak,  saying,  the  Lord  separateth  me  from  his 
people  ;"  and  in  verses  G  and  7,  "  Also  the  strangers  who  join 
themselves  to  the  Lord,  to  serve  him  and  to  love  the  name  of 
the  Lord,  to  be  his  servants,  every  one  that  keepeth  the  Sab- 
bath from  polluting  it,  and  holdetli  fast  to  my  covenant :  even 
them  will  I  bring  to  my  holy  mountain,  and  make  them  joy- 
ful in  my  house  of  pi'ayer  ;  their  burnt-oflerings  and  their 
sacrifices  shall  be  accepted  upon  mine  altar :  for  mine  house 
shall  be  called  an  house  of  prayer  for  all  people."  We  read  in 
Ezekiel  xlvii.  22,  23,  "and  when  ye  divide  by  lot  the  inheri- 
tance among  j'-ou,  and  among  the  strangers  that  sojourn  among 
you,  and  beget  children  among  you ;  and  they  shall  be  unto 
you  as  born  in  the  country  among  the  children  of  Israel :  they 
shall  have  inheritance  with  you  amongst  the  tribes  of  Israel, 
each  one  amongst  the  tribe  in  the  midst  of  which  he  dwells  : "' 
on  which  Michaelis  remarks,  "  the  distinction  between  the 
nations,  which  was  kept  up  under  the  Old  Covenant,  is  here 
abolished."  Hand  in  hand  with  this  signal  adoption  of  the 
heathens,  the  prophets  proclaim  an  equally  extensive  exclusion 
of  the  folse  seed,  of  the  merely  natural  descendants  of  the 
patriarchs,  who  had  degenerated  into  Canaanites.  In  chapter 
xliv.  9,  Ezekiel  characterises  the  ungodly  Priests  and  Levitos  as 
sons  of  the  stranger.  Isaiah  in  chap.  i.  1 0,  speaks  of  the  Princes 
of  Israel  as  Princes  of  Sodom,  and  of  the  people,  as  a  people 
of  Gomorrah.  It  is  said  in  Ezekiel  xvi.  3,  "  thus  saith  the 
Lord  to  Jerusalem,  thy  birth  and  thy  nativity  is  of  the  laud 
of  Canaan  :  thy  father  is  the  Aifiorite  and  thy  mother  a  Hit- 
tite."  The  downfal  of  the  covenant  people  is  proclaimed  by 
Zephaniah,  in  the  words,  "  destroyed  is  the  whole  people  of 
Canaan."  Hosea  says,  concerning  the  degenerated  covenant 
people,  "  Canaan,  in  his  hand  are  the  balances  of  deceit."      If 


430  THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN"  CHURCH. 

it  is  possible  for  Israelites  to  degenerate  into  sons  of  the 
stranger,  into  Sodomites,  into  Canaanites,  as  even  Moses  pro- 
claimed in  Deuteronomy  xxxii.  3  2,  "  for  their  vine  is  worse 
than  the  vine  of  Sodom  and  of  the  fields  of  Gomorrah  ;"  then, 
on  the  other  hancl,  must  it  also  be  possible  for  born  heathens, 
by  receiving  into  their  hearts  the  principles  which  animated 
the  true  Israel,  to  be  incorporated  with  Israel : — it  may  even 
happen  that  Israel  will  consist  mainly  of  such  as  once  were 
heathens.  Israel's  essential  feature  was  not  its  natural,  bodily 
descent  from  Abraham.  Merely  in  this  aspect  it  might  be 
said  of  the  Israelites  quite  as  truly  as  of  the  heathen — "  they 
are  not  a  people,"  (Deut.  xxxii.  21).  "No  real  State  can  be 
established  unless  the  natural  factor  be  supplemented  by  a 
moral  one  ;  unless  a  moral  idea  take  up  its  position  as  the 
centre  of  a  nation's  natural  unity,"  (Leo).  The  living  idea 
which  formed  the  groundwork  of  Israel's  nationality,  was  that 
of  the  kingdom  of  God  established  in  its  midst.  Only  those 
were  true  members  of  Israel,  in  whose  hearts  this  idea  had 
become  the  ruling  power.  Whoso  therefore  participated  in 
this  soul  of  the  national  fellowship,  was  externally  made  a 
member  thereof:  whoso  resisted  the  idea,  concerning  him  it 
was  declared,  "  this  soul  is  destroyed  from  the  midst  of  its 
nation." 

At  the  very  threshold  of  the  New  Testament,  we  find  the 
Baptist  addressing  a  whole  host  of  the  legitimate  sons  of  the 
patriarchs  as  a  "  brood  of  vipers,"  and  thus  separating  them 
from  the  true  Israel  (Mat.  iii.  7).  He  says  to  them,  "  Think 
not  to  say  within  yourselves,  we  have  Abraham  to  our  father, 
for  I  say  unto  you  that  God  is  able  of  these  stones  to  raise 
up  children  to  Abraham."  If  even  of  the  stones,  how  much 
more  of  the  heathen,  within  whose  breasts  there  is  a  feeling 
heart,  and  whose  fitness  for  redemption  is  prominently  brought 
out  in  the  Book  of  Jonah,  to  the  shame  of  the  self-conceited 
sons  of  the  kingdom !  The  Baptist  starts  with  the  assump- 
tion, that  all  those  whose  purpose  it  is,  as  members  of  the 
kingdom  of  God,  to  escape  the  wrath  to  come,  must  be  chil- 
dren of  Abraham  and  of  the  patriarchs,  members  of  Israel. 
But  to  be  of  the  community  of  Israel  did  not  depend  solely 
on  natural  birth  :  it  could  be  arrived  at  in  a  purely  spiritual 
way,  even  as  in  the  usual  course  of  things  adopted  sons  may 


THE  Ji:WS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.  431 

be  iniicli  more  truly  stirred  by  the  spirit  of  family  than  even 
the  natural  sons.  As  the  better  portion  of  Abraham  and 
Jacob, — that  portion  which  alone  lends  them  dignity  and 
significance, — in  the  kingdom  of  God  originates  direct^  in 
God  ;  so,  by  the  like  influence  which  was  brought  to  bear 
upon  them,  can  God  raise  up  to  them  true  sons,  without 
binding  Himself  to  the  ordinary  course  of  nature. 

Much  that  our  Lord  said  was  dictated  l)y  the  view  of  the 
essential  identity  of  Israel  with  the  Church  of  the  New 
Testament,  by  the  conviction  that  it  includes,  besides  the 
believing  descendants  of  the  patriarchs,  also  their  adopted 
sons,  even  the  entire  world  of  heathen  believers.  So  in 
Matthew  xix.  28,  where  he  says  to  the  Apostles,  "Verily  I 
say  unto  you,  that  ye  which  have  followed  me  in  the  regenera- 
tion, when  the  Son  of  Man  shall  sit  in  the  throne  of  His 
glory,  ye  also  shall  sit  upon  twelve  thrones,  judging  the 
twelve  tribes  of  Israel."  That  the  Lord  does  not  mean  Israel 
in  the  ordinary  sense,  is  clear  from  chap,  xxviii.  19,  and  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles  i.  8,  according  to  which  the  mission  of 
the  Apostles  was  to  "  all  nations."  The  sphere  of  their  rule 
in  the  kingdom  of  glory  cannot  surely  be  narrower  than  that 
of  their  mission  during  the  diiys  when  the  Church  is  in  its 
militant  state.  We  may  adduce,  as  a  parallel  passage,  Apo- 
calypse xxi.  1  -i,  which  tells  us  that,  on  the  foundations  of  the 
walls  of  the  new  Jerusalem,  of  the  city  in  whose  light  the 
heathens  walk,  and  into  which  the  kings  of  the  earth  bring 
their  glory,  are  written  the  names  of  the  twelve  Apostles  of 
the  Lamb.  That  the  limits  of  the  rule  of  the  Apostles  are 
coincident  with  those  of  the  dominion  of  Christ  Himself,  we 
learn  also  from  Matthew  xx.  23,  which  informs  us  that  those 
who  are  prefeiTed  amongst  the  Apostles  shall  sit  on  the  right 
hand,  and  on  the  left  hand  of  their  Lord.  If  the  dominion  of 
Christ  be  not  restricted  to  Israel  in  the  ordinary  sense,  neither 
also  can  that  of  the  Apostles  be  thus  restricted. 

Even  in  his  choice  of  the  Apostles,  our  Lord  was  influenced 
by  this  idea  of  the  identity  of  Israel  and  the  Church.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  in  choosing  exactly  twelve  Apostles 
Christ  had  in  view  the  number  of  the  tribes  of  Israel,  and 
that  He  meant  the  Apostles,  in  virtue  of  their  being  twelve, 
to  represent  Israel      And  as  we  know  certainly  that   the 


432  THE  JEWS  AND  'i\iE  eli.J.STIAN  CHURCH. 

mission  of  the  Apostles  was  quite  as  much  to  the  heathen  as 
to  the  Jews,  it  is  evident  that,  in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord,  the 
Church  of  the  New  Covenant  was  Israel. 

St.  Paul  teaches  us,  in  Romans  xi.,  that  from  the  beginning 
to  the  end  there  exists  but  one  olive-tree,  one  people  of  God, 
one  Israel.  The  unbelieving  descendants  of  the  patriarchs 
are  broken  off  from  this  olive-tree  ;  the  heathen  are  graffed 
into  it,  and  have  perfectly  equal  rights  with  the  natural 
branches.  They  become  "  partakers  of  the  roots  and  of  the 
sap  of  the  olive-tree."  Nor,  when  the  unworthy  "  sons  of  the 
kingdom"  are  converted,  will  they  receive  anything  more,  or 
anything  less,  than  the  heathens  who  have  believed.  They 
are  "  graifed  into  their  own  olive-tree."  In  verse  1 8,  Israel  is 
represented  as  the  root  of  the  Christian  Church. 

In  Romans  ix.  6,  7,  the  Apostle  lays  down  the  principle 
that  "  they  are  not  all  Israel,  which  are  of  Israel ;  neither, 
because  they  are  the  seed  of  Abraham,  are  they  all  childi-en." 
As  standing  in  direct  and  close  parallelism  with  this  distinc- 
tion amongst  the  natural  descendants  of  the  patriarchs,  to 
which  our  Lord  also  had  already  most  plainly  referred  in 
iJohn  viii.  37,  "I  know  that  ye  are  Abraliam's  seed,  but  ye 
seek  to  kill  me,  ye  are  of  your  father  the  devil,"  we  may 
adduce  the  recognition  of  a  spiritual  posterity.  If  unbelief 
excludes,  then  must  faith  have  the  power  of  effecting  an 
affiliation. 

In  Romans  iv.  11,  12,  the  Apostle  declares  Abraham  to  be 
the  father  of  all  who  believe,  though  they  be  not  circumcised, 
and  also  the  father  of  the  circumcision,  so  far  as  the}^  other- 
wise walk  in  the  steps  of  the  faith  of  Abraham.  Faith  was 
the  central  characteristic  of  Abraham's  nature.  Those,  there- 
fore, who  share  his  faith  are  his,  that  is,  Israel's  true  sons, 
altogether  independently  of  circumcision  or  of  natural  descent, 
w^hich  in  this  matter  are  not  of  decided  moment.  In  verses  1 6 
and  17  Paul  represents  Abraham  as  the  father  of  all  Christians, 
the  father  of  many  nations  ;  and  ho  bases  his  representations 
on  the  original  promises  recorded  in  Genesis — promises  which 
need  not,  as  Tholuck  supposes,  be  "  interpreted  typically"  in 
order  to  answer  the  Apostle's  purpose,  but  do  so  when  taken 
in  their  strict  and  proper  sense  ;  the  words,  in  fact,  allow  of 
no   othei-  interpretation.       The   Lord   says    to   Abraham,  in 


THE  JEWS  A-\])  thl:  cjhustian  church.  433 

Genesis  xvii.  4,  "Thou  slialfc  bo  a  father  of  many  nations," 
and  in  verse  5,  "  For  a  father  of  many  nations  do  I  give  thee" 
(in  Loth  instances  the  word  DMJ  is  employed,  signifying  spe- 
cially born  heathens) ;  and  in  verse  (5,  "  I  give  thee  to  peoples, 
and  kings  shall  come  forth  of  thee."  The  watershoots,  the 
sons  of  Abraham  by  nature,  cannot  be,  in  the  first  instance, 
here  referred  to.  Only  in  Isaac  should  his  seed  be  called. 
Ishmael  was  already  born,  when  the  promise  was  given  which 
refen-ed  to  the  seed  whose  existence  was  still  entirely  a  matter 
of  faith.  When  the  same  promise  as  is  here  made  to  Abi-aham, 
is  afterwards,  in  verse  1 5,  made  to  Sarah,  the  sons  of  Kethurah 
are  necessarily  excluded.  From  Abraham,  through  Isaac,  there 
sprang  only  a  single  nation,  for  we  cannot  of  course  include 
Edom,  which  was  "  not  a  people."  Now  the  words,  "  many 
nations,"  in  accordance  with  which  Abrarn  received  the  new 
name  Abraham,  "Father  of  the  gi-eat  multitude,"  cannot  be 
supposed  to  refer  solely  to  this  one  nation  of  the  Jews.  Hence 
there  was  nothing  for  it  but  that  this  nation  should  be  largely 
extended  and  increased  by  adoption,  that  it  should  receive 
a  "multitude  of  peoples"  into  its  bosom.  This  conclusion  is 
decidedly  confirmed  by  tliat  other  parallel  original  promise, 
"in  thee  shall  all  the  tribes  of  the  earth  be  blessed"  (Genesis 
xii.  3).  "  They,  together  with  their  kings,  were  to  be  gTaffed 
into  the  stem  of  the  chosen  race."*  That  the  heathens  who 
were  to  be  received  into  the  midst  of  the  covenant  people 
had  as  real  an  interest  in  the  promises  as  the  Jews,  is  evident 
from  verses  12  and  13,  which  inform  us  that  heathen  servants 
could  be  incorporated  with  the  chosen  race  by  means  of  cir- 
cumcision. C'ould  this  be  effected  by  circumcision,  then 
might  it  also,  in  other  and  altered  (.-ii-cum.stances,  be  effected 
by  means  of  baptism — a  rite  diffiiring  oidy  in  form.  On  no 
other  view  could  kings  of  tke  nations  be  said  to  spring  from 
Sarah,   as   we   are   told   in   verse    16.       In  an   ordinary  and 

*  Noiili's  .s:iyinfr,  also,  in  Genesis  ix.  ?6,  27.  leads  to  tlic  panic  result,  '•Blessed 
be  .lelmvali,  the  God  of  Slicm.  May  God  f^ivc  Japheth  large  room,  and  may 
lie  dwell  in  the  tents  of  Slieni."  In  the  future,  God  will  show  himself  to  Shem 
as  Jehovah  and  his  God.  The  happiness  of  Japheth  consists  in  his  being  received 
into  the  fellowship  of  Jehovah,  who  is  to  he  found  in  the  tents  of  Shorn.  Luther 
remarks.  "Although  Shem  alone  is  tiie  root  and  stem,  yet  will  the  heathen  ho 
grafted  thereinto,  as  a  strange  branch,  and  jmrtake  of  the  sap  and  strength 
which  is  contained  in  the  elect  tree." 

2   E 


434  THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

natural  way  only  the  kings  of  one  people  could  be  said  to 
spring  from  her. 

To  the  Corinthians  Paul  writes,  "  Ye  know  that  ye  were 
sometime  heatheAs"  (1  Corinthians  xii.  2)  ;  and  nevertheless, 
he  says  in  chapter  x.  1,  "our  fathers  were  all  of  them  under 
the  cloud."  He  thus  designates  the  Israelites  of  the  Mosaic 
period  the  fathers  of  the  believing  Christian  heathens  of 
Corinth.  In  his  view,  therefore,  all  Christians  are  incorporated 
with  Israel.  He  reasons  on  the  same  principles  also,  when, 
in  verse  18,  he  describes  the  Jews  (not  the  Old  Testament 
people  of  God,  but  the  Jews  of  his  own  day,)  as  Israel  after 
the  flesh,  in  contrast  to  the  true,  spiritual  Israel,  which  con- 
tinues, in  the  Christian  Church,  the  existence  it  already  had 
under  the  Old  Covenant. 

According  to  Ephesians  ii.  1 2,  the  heathen  when  they  come 
to  Christ,  are  incorporated  with  the  commonwealth  of  Israel, 
become  "  fellow-citizens  of  the  saints,"  that  is,  of  Israel,  (chap. 
ii.  19.) 

"  Know  ye  therefore,"  writes  Paul  in  Galatians  iii.  7,  "  that 
they  which  are  of  faith,  the  same  are  children  of  Abraham  :" 
and  in  ver.  29,  he  says  to  born  heathens,  "if  ye  be  Christ's, 
then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed,  and  heirs  according  to  the  pro- 
mise." We  read  in  chap.  vi.  15,  16,  "  in  Christ  Jesus,  neither 
circumcision  availeth  anytliing  nor  uncircumcision,  but  a  new 
creature.  And  as  many  as  walk  according  to  this  rule,  peace 
be  on  them  and  mercy,  and  upon  the  Israel  of  God!'  "  Peace 
be  on  Israel" — this,  the  form  of  blessing  employed  in  Psalm 
cxxv.  5,  is  here  applied  to  the  Church  of  the  new  Testament, 
by  the  Apostle.  And  why?  Because  he  regards  it  as  the 
legitimate  continuance  of  Israel.  Compare  further  Colossians 
ii.  ]  1,  and  Philippians  iii.  8. 

That  which  is  written  in  Exodus  xix.  5,  6,  concerning 
Israel — "  ye  shall  be  a  property  to  me  out  of  all  nations.  And 
ye  shall  be  to  me  a  kingdom  of  priests,  and  a  holy  nation," — 
is  applied  to  the  Church  of  the  New  Covenant  by  St.  Peter, 
when  he  says,  "  ye  are  the  chosen  generation,  the  holy  nation, 
the  royal  priesthood,  the  peculiar  people,"  (1  Peter  ii.  9  ;)  by 
Paul  in  Titus  ii.  14  ;  and  by  John  in  Apocalypse  i.  6,  and  v. 
10.  The  Church,  consequently,  is  considered  to  be  the  true 
Israel,  beside  which  there  is  place  for  no  other. 


THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.       435 

James  addresses  his  epistle  to  the  twelve  tribes  that  are 
scattered  abroad,  to  the  Israel  outside  of  Palestine.  He  had  not 
to  do  with  Jews,  but  with  Christians  :  and  he  regards  the 
great  majority  of  Jews  as  "  false  seed,"  as  members  of  Israel 
merely  in  appearance.  He  wrote  to  churches  which  were 
composed  of  Jewish  and  heathen  Christians.  There  were  no 
other  Churches  in  the  Diaspora.  The  heathens  also  he  con- 
siders to  be  members  of  "  the  twelve  tribes,"  inasmuch  us, 
although  not  participators  in  outward  circumcision,  they  pos- 
sessed the  "circumcision  of  the  heart,"  (Romans  ii.  28,  29,)  and 
because  they  were  spiritual,  if  not  fleshly,  sons  of  the  Patri- 
archs. We  may  make  the  same  remarks  in  connection  Avith 
the  superscription  of  the  Epistle  of  Peter.  He  addresses  his 
readers  as  *•  the  elect  strangers  scattered  abroad."  This  was  a 
designation  which  belonged  to  the  Jews  of  the  Diaspora. 
Without  hesitation  Peter  applies  it  to  Christians,  the  true 
Jews.  That  the  Churches  did  not  consist  even  mainly  of 
Jewish  Christians  is  sufficiently  proved  by  chap.  iv.  3,  4. 
Were  the  superscription  to  be  understood  in  a  Jewish  sense, 
the  letter  would  have  been  addressed,  not  to  Jewish  Christians, 
but  to  all  the  Jews  of  the  Diaspora.  It  is  not  allowable,  as 
might  be  suggested,  to  distinguish  between  the  strangers  and 
the  Diaspora  :  both  must  be  used  either  in  the  Christian,  or 
in  the  Jewish  sense.  We  should  judge  the  character  of  the 
Church  to  be  beathen-christian,  from  1  Peter  iii.  6,  also,  where 
the  Apostle,  speaking  to  the  believing  women,  says,  "  ye  have 
become  the  daughters  of  Sarah."  On  which  Bengel  remarks, 
"  Ye  have  hecovie,  not,  ye  are  ;  for  he  speaks  to  heathens  who 
had  become  believers."  Here  also,  there  lies  at  the  foundation, 
the  idea  that  the  Christian  Church  is  the  true  seed  of  Abraham, 
the  true  Israel,  that  the  unbelief  of  the  seed  of  Abraham  and 
of  Israel  excludes,  whilst  faith  incorporates,  and  that  the  Jews 
are  only  the  Israel  which  is  after  the  flesh,  Israel  merely  in 
appearance. 

Tlie  "  hundred  and  forty  and  four  thousand  who  were  sealed 
out  of  all  the  tribes  of  Israel,"  (Apocalypse  vii.  4,)  cannot  refer 
to  Israel  in  the  common  acceptation  of  the  word.  For  the 
plagues  against  wliich  those  were  ensured  who  underwent  the 
sealing,  are  inflicted  on  the  ^uhols  earth,  and  threaten  equally 
all  those  who,  according  to  chap.  v.  9,  10,  are  redeemed  by 


436  THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

the  blood  of  Christ,  out  of  every  kindred  and  tongue,  and 
people  and  nation,  and  are  made  kings  and  piiests  to  their 
God  ;  but  nothing  whatever  is  said  to  indicate  that  the  Jewish 
Christians  were  to  be  special  participators  therein.  How 
strange,  then,  if  the  seer  should  receive  consolation  for  only  a 
part  of  those  Avho  were  threatened  !  If  all  were  in  tribulation, 
comfort  should  be,  and  is,  in  fact,  afforded  to  all.  According 
to  ver.  3,  the  servants  of  God  in  general  are  to  be  sealed,  and 
to  understand  by  them  only  Jewish  Christians  is  simple  arbi- 
trariness." The  hundred  and  forty  and  four  thousand  are  men- 
tioned again  in  chap,  xiv.,  and  there  unquestionably  they  re- 
present the  entire  host  of  Christians  : — they  are  redeemed 
from  the  earth,  from  the  whole  human  race.  Those  to  whom 
we  are  introduced  here,  as  preserved  on  earth,  are  set  before 
us  in  verses  9-17,  enjoying  their  heavenly  blessedness.  They 
are  "  a  multitude  whom  no  man  can  number,  of  every  nation., 
and  tribe,  and  people,  and,  tongue."  And,  be  it  remarked, 
the  expression,  "  a  multitude  which  no  man  can  number,"  is 
one  characteristically  used  to  denote  Israel  or  the  Church,  (see 
Genesis  xiii.  16;  xv.  5  :  Numbers  xxiii.  1 0.)  To  say,  then, 
that  they  cannot  be  numbered,  is  equivalent  to  calling  them 
Israel,  as  in  ver.  4. 

That  the  idea  of  Israel  was  completely  one  with  that  of  the 
Christian  Church  in  the  view  of  the  author  of  the  Apocalypse, 
is  evident  also  Irom  chap.  xxi.  1 2.  According.to  this  passage 
on  the  gates  of  the  city,  which  typified  the  Church  in  the 
kingdom  of  glor}?-, — the  city,  namely,  in  whose  light  the 
heathen  walk,  (chap.  xxi.  24,)  into  which  all  who  overcome 
are  received  without  distinction  of  nation,  (chap.  xxi.  7,)  and 
from  which,  without  distinction  of  nation,  all  are  excluded 
who  work  abominations  or  do  a  lie,  names  are  written,  which 
are  the  twelve  tribes  of  the  children  of  Israel. 

So  much,  therefore,  is  certain — that  in  the  view  of  the 
Scriptures,  the  Christian  Church  is  the  legitimate  continuation 
of  Israel.  We  are  strengthened  in  this  conviction  when  we 
find  that  v.  Oettingen's  assertion — "  only  individual  members 
of  the  natural  Israel  had  gone  over  to  the  Church  of  Christ  ; 
consequently  on  the  whole  and  in  general,  it  was  a  community 
of  heathen  Christians,"— may  be  shown  to  be  unsupported  by 
historical  evidence.      In  point  of  numbers,  the  -Iv'uish  converts 


THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.  437 

formed  a  very  considerable  part  of  the  early  Christian  Church: 
in  point  of  influence  they  had  so  decidedly  the  predominance, 
that  they  stamped  on  the  whole  Church  a  character  which  it 
has  retained  in  all  ages.  From  them,  for  example,  did  the 
Church  learn  to  speak  the  language  of  Canaan,  (Isaiah  xix.  1 8.) 
Of  their  number,  at  all  events,  were  the  twelve  Apostles, 
whose  names  still  stand  on  the  foundations  of  th^  New  Jeru- 
salem, whose  writings  still  continue  to  be  the  light  on  the 
path  of  the  Church,  and  who,  in  the  regeneration,  will  judge 
the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.  The  high  priestly  prayer  of 
Jesus,  which  alludes  to  the  Church  on  earth  as  already  founded 
(John  xvii.  6-8,)  although  not  a  single  heathen  had  as  yet 
been  converted,  brings  clearly  to  view  the  fact  that  Israel  is 
the  root  of  the  Christian  Church.  After  the  crucifixion  of 
Christ,  the  crowds  which,  before,  had  cried  out,  "  crucify  Him, 
crucify  Him,"  struck  by  His  superhuman  dignity,  smote  their 
breasts,  and  bewailed  the  dead  One  and  their  crime,  (Luke 
xxiii.  48.)  Therewith  began  a  glorious  movement,  which  led 
great  masses  of  penitent  Jews  to  the  Christian  Church.  The 
centre  of  this  movement  was  the  first  Christian  Whitsuntide, 
(Acts  iii.  1 5  ;  iv.  4.)  Its  magnitude  we  may  learn  also  from 
Acts  v.  1 4,  "  But  there  were  the  more  added,  such  as  believed 
on  the  Lord  :  a  multitude  both  of  men  and  women."  In 
Acts  xxi.  20,  we  find  the  elders  in  Jerusalem  saying  to  Paul, 
"  thou  seest,  brother,  how  many  thousands  of  Jews  there  are 
which  believe  ;"  on  which  Bengel  remarks,  "  in  the  ciise  of  all 
these,  circumcision  went  by  degrees  out  of  vogue,  and,  without 
doubt,  a  gTcat  part  of  them  mixed  with  the  heathens  which 
had  believed.  So  large  a  proportion,  therefore,  of  the  seed  of 
Abraham,  was  not  lost  during  so  many  centuries,  as  one  might 
be  disposed  to  imagine."  Paul  says  in  Romans  xi.  7,  "  Israel 
hath  not  obtained  that  which  he  seeketh  for  ;  but  the  electioh 
hath  obtained  it,  and  the  rest  are  hardened  ;"  but  the  emphasis 
must  by  no  means  be  laid  merely  on  the  last  clause  ;  we  must 
fix  our  attention  quite  as  strongly  on  the  election  which  had 
attained  to  redemption.  To  contrast  the  spiritual  with  the 
natural  Israel,  on  the  ground  of  the  misunderstood  passage  in 
1  Corinthians  x.  1  8, — a  passage  whose  explanation  must  be 
sought  in  Galatians  iv.  29, — would  be  quite  at  variance  with 
the  facts  of  history.      Micah's  prophetical  words,  "  the  remnant 


438  THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

of  Jacob  shall  be  in  the  midst  of  many,  as  a  dew  from  the 
Lord,  and  as  the  showers  upon  the  grass,  that  tarrieth  not  for 
man,  nor  waiteth  upon  the  sons  of  men.  Yea,  the  remnant 
of  Jacob  shall  be  among  the  heathen,  in  the  midst  of  many- 
people,  as  a  lion  amongst  the  beasts  of  the  forest,  as  a  young 
lion  amidst  a  flock  of  sheep,  which  no  one  can  keep  off ;  when 
he  goeth  through  them  he  treadeth  down  and  teareth  in  pieces," 
(chap.  V.  6,  7,)  were  completely  fulfilled  in  the  beginnings  of 
the  Christian  Church.  At  that  time  the  election  of  Israel 
proved  itself  a  lovely  and  quickening  power  in  the  midst  of 
the  nations,  and  at  the  same  time,  also  terrible  and  irresistible. 
This  latter  characteristic  served  the  purpose  not  merely  of  a 
curse  on  their  stiff-necked  despisers,  but  also  of  a  blessing  to 
such  as  were  estranged  from  the  kingdom  of  God  through 
ignorance.  Then  also  were  the  words  of  Isaiah  in  chap.  Ixvi. 
18,  19,  completely  fulfilled — "  the  time  shall  come  to  gather 
together  all  heathens  and  tongues,  and  they  shall  come  and  see 
my  glory.  And  I  will  give  them  a  sign,  (a  token  possessed 
by  the  messengers  of  God  in  evidence  of  the  spirit  and  power,) 
and  I  will  send  those  that  escape  of  them  into  the  nations, 
to  Tarshish,  Phul  and  Lud,  that  draw  the  bow,  to  the  isles  afar 
off,  that  have  not  heard  my  fame,  neither  seen  my  glory,  and 
they  shall  declare  my  glory  among  the  heathen." 

The  Christian  Church  being  then  the  legitimate  and  proper 
continuation  of  Israel,  to  it  must  belong  most  of  the  promises 
which,  superficially  examined,  are  supposed  to  furnish  a  pledge 
of  the  future  salvation  of  the  Jews.  They  have  already  found 
their  fulfilment  in  the  victorious  career  pursued  by  the  Church 
through  all  past  centuries,  in  its  irrepressible  tendency  to 
spread  out,  to  the  very  ends  of  the  earth,  in  the  spirit  of  re- 
formation by  which  it  is  swayed,  and  in  the  liglit  which  arises 
to  it  ever  afresh  out  of  the  darkness  : — in  a  word,  these  pro- 
mises are  being  every  day  fulfilled  before  our  eyes.  It  is  a 
sad  denial  of  the  grace  vouchsafed  by  God  to  His  Church,  to 
refer  the  glorious  promises  of  Scripture  almost  exclusively  to  the 
future,  not  to  be  able  to  follow  out  the  hidden  traces  of  divine 
blessing,  both  in  the  past  and  the  present,  to  fail  to  discern  in 
the  Church  the  true  Israel,  and  in  its  place  to  dress  up  an 
Israel  of  the  fancy  out  of  the  Jews,  to  speak  slightingly  of  the 
Church,  and  contrast  with  it  that  kingdom  of  God  which  is 


THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.  439 

first  to  come  when  the  Jews  are  converted.  This  is  one  of 
the  many  subjective  aberrations  of  the  present  day,  which  must 
vanish  as  soon  as  the  Church  has  been  awakened  to  a  sounder 
estimate  of  its  position  and  privileges.  Indeed,  one  might 
prophecy  the  downfal  of  these  opinions  from  the  circumstance 
of  their  late  origin  :  they  have  against  them  the  consentient 
voice  of  all  the  various  sections  of  the  entire  Christian  Church. 

A  recent  writer  has  said,  "  It  is  not  to  be  denied  that,  for 
the  Church  as  a  whole,  the  Old  Testament  is  of  comparatively 
little  use  ;"  but  then,  by  way  of  set  off,  we  can  console  our- 
selves with  the  thought,  that  we  are  a  community  formed  of 
heathens,  (see  "  Weiss  agung  und  Erfiillung,"  b}'^  Dr  v.  Hoffman, 
I.  S.  46):  and  that  is  the  necessary  consequence  of  setting  the 
Jews  in  the  place  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  But  the  apostle 
teaches  us,  in  2  Timothy  iii.  IG,  that  "all  Scripture  given  by 
inspiration  of  God  is  profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for 
correction,  and  for  instruction  in  righteousness.  That  a  man  of 
God  may  be  perfect,  fitted  to  every  good  work."  The  Scrip- 
tures of  the  Old  Testament,  to  which  those  words  primarily 
refer,  must  have  been  differently  interpreted  by  him  who  could 
speak  in  such  a  way. 

It  cannot,  however,  with  all  this,  on  the  other  hand,  be 
denied,  that  the  promises  primarily  given  to  the  Israel  of  the 
Christian  Church  are,  at  the  same  time,  fitted  to  awaken  and 
sustain  hopes  concerning  the  Jews.  Indeed,  they  give  rise,  if 
not  directly,  yet  indirectly,  to  such  hopes.  If  the  Christian 
Church  is  no  new  institution,  but  simply  the  continuation  of 
Israel,  and  if  it  has  such  glorious  promises,  we  must  naturally 
expect  that  the  physical  descendants  of  the  Patriarchs,  who  are 
converted,  will  not  be  limitedto  the  comparatively  scanty  number 
hitherto  brought  in,  but  that  they  will  yet  attain  to  greater 
importance  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  That  great  weight  is  laid 
upon  them,  we  learn  from  the  history  of  the  Patriarchs.  Isaac's 
birth  is  there  the  central  feature  of  the  narrative.  The  long 
details  given  concerning  the  birth  of  the  sons  of  Jacob,  show 
that  quite  another  importance  attached  to  the  physical  pos- 
terity of  the  Patriarchs,  in  relation  to  the  kingdom  of  God,  than 
attached  to  those  who  should  be  received  into  Israel  from  the 
heathen  world.  Through  long  centuries  the  proselytes  from 
the  heathen  were  merely  of  secondary  importance.      Specially 


440       THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

to  the  'physical  descendants  of  the  Patriarchs  belonged,  in  th« 
first  instance,  "  the  sonship,  and  the  glory,  and  the  covenants, 
and  the  law,  and  the  service,  and  the  promise,"  (Romans  ix.  4). 
In  proof  of  the  abiding  importance  of  that  connection  with  the 
Patriarchs,  which  is  after  the  flesh,  our  Lord  sent  back  the 
Canaanitish  woman  with  the  words,  "  I  am  not  (primarily) 
sent,  save  unto  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel."  and  left 
her  to  secure  for  herself  an  exceptional  position  by  her  heroic 
faith.  In  Matthew  x.  5,  6,  the  Lord  says  to  the  apostles, 
"  Go  not  into  the  way  of  the  Gentiles,  and  into  cities  of  the 
Samaritans  enter  ye  not ;  but  go  rather  to  the  lost  sheep  of 
the  house  of  Israel :"  and  in  the  same  spirit  Peter  says  to  those 
who  were  Jews  by  birth,  "  Unto  you  first,  God,  having  raised 
up  His  Son  Jesus,  sent  Him  to  bless  you,  in  turning  away 
every  one  of  you  from  his  iniquities"  (Actsiii.  26).  Paul  also 
says,  in  Acts  xiii.  26,  "  Men  and  brethren,  children  of  the 
stock  of  Abraham,  to  you  is  the  word  of  this  salvation  sent :" 
and  in  verse  46,  "It  was  necessary  that  the  word  of  God 
should  first  be  spoken  unto  you."  Our  Lord  designates  the 
descendants  of  the  Patriarchs,  "  Sons  of  the  kingdom,"  regno 
proximi,  those  to  whom  the  kingdom  of  God  primarily  belongs. 
Stiff-necked  impenitence  must  of  course  end  in  the  loss  of  these 
prospects.  The  Lord  saith,  in  Matthew  xxi.  48,  "  Therefore 
say  I  unto  you,  the  kingdom  of  God  shall  be  taken  from  you 
and  be  given  to  a  nation  bringing  forth  the  fruit  thereof" 
This  "people"  is  the  true  Israel,  the  "election"  mentioned  by 
Paul,  into  which  the  believing  heathen  are  brought  by  afiilia- 
tion.  We  cannot,  however,  suppose  that,  during  the  age  of 
the  apostles,  a  final  decision  had  been  arrived  at  on  this  matter. 
All  the  means  of  grace  were  not  then  exhausted.  The  crush- 
ing of  hardness  is  a  work  of  centuries.  Even  under  the  Old 
Covenant  great  differences  are  discernible.  After  the  exile  the 
nation  was  much  more  susceptible  than  before.  Then  the 
words  of  the  earlier  prophets,  which  for  many  long  years  had 
been  spoken  to  the  wind,  fell  into  hearts  rendered  susceptible 
by  trial.  Even  on  the  strictest  scriptural  view  of  human 
nature,  it  appears  scarcely  possible  to  account  for  the  extent 
of  the  hardness  of  the  Jews,  unless  we  suppose  it  to  be  the 
work  of  destiny  as  well  as  the  result  of  guilt,  unless  we  assume 
that  God,  in  righteous  retribution,  has  hitherto  kept  back  from 


THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.  441 

them  the  full  treasure  of  his  redemptive  influences,  to  the  end 
that  tliey  may  first  be  thoroughly  humbled,  and  then  be 
brought  back,  to  prove  a  blessing  and  not  a  hindrance  to  the 
kingdom  of  God.  Our  expectation  is,  that  the  main  assault  ou 
their  hardness  of  heart  remains  still  to  be  made  in  the  future. 

These,  however,  are  but  probabilities  and  conclusions,  which, 
however  commendable  in  themselves,  want  still  the  seal  of 
confirmation.  If  they  are  sound,  then  must  the  Scriotures 
contain  such  a  seal  of  confirmation  in  the  shape  of  declarations, 
wliich  directly  bear  on  the  future  salvation  of  the  Jews.  Such 
declarations  exist,  and  although  their  number  is  but  limited, 
they  are  so  clear  as  to  leave  no  room  for  tenable  doubts.  The 
declarations  of  the  New  Testament  furnish  the  only  satisfac- 
tory groundwork  for  the  understanding  of  those  of  the  Old 
Testament,  and  therefore  we  should  in  fairness  begin  with  the 
former.  To  ground  our  hopes  of  the  future  merely  on  the 
latter,  is  to  surrender  the  Church  to  the  Jews.  No  one  can 
think  of  doing  so  who  understands  the  general  relation  in 
which  the  New  Testament  stands  to  the  prophecies  of  the  Old 
Testament :  that  part  of  them  which  was  not  fulfilled  at  the 
first  appearance  of  Christ  is  taken  up  again  by  the  New  Testa- 
ment writers,  and  treated  both  most  carefully,  and  according 
to  a  thoroughly  digested  plan.  Such  an  one  recognises  the 
■txiIq — that  whatever  hope  for  the  future  does  not  recur  in  the 
New  Testament,  can  be  found  in  the  Old  Testament  only  by 
means  of  a  false  method  of  interpretation. 

Now,  first,  do  we  see  the  great  importance  of  the  words 
spoken  by  the  Saviour  on  the  cross :  "  Father,  forgive  them, 
for  they  know  not  what  they  do."  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  they  referred,  not  merely  to  the  Roman  soldiers,  but  to 
all  who,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  were  concerned  in  the  cru- 
cifixion, and  specially  to  the  Jewish  nation,  which  had  delivered 
up  the  Lord  to  the  Romans  (John  xviii.  35).  As  Christ 
always  prays  according  to  the  wall  of  God,  we  may  judge  that, 
behind  the  prayer,  "  Father,  forgive  them,"  there  lay  h'ddeu 
the  assurance,  "  the  Father  will  forgive  them."  It  is  of  great  |  -|^ 
importance  also  to  mark  the  ground  on  which  the  prayer  is 
^^rged — "  for  they  know  not  what  they  do."  We  must  exa- 
mine it  in  connection  with  the  declarations  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment regarding  the  sin  against  the   Holy  Ghost,  and,  above 


442  THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

all,  in  the  light  of  the  words  of  the  Lord  in  Matthew  xii.  31, 
32,  "wherefore  I  say  unto  you,  all  manner  of  sin  and  blas- 
phemy shall  be  forgiven  unto  men,  but  the  blasphemy  against  the 
Holy  Ghost  shall  not  be  forgiven  unto  men.  And  whosoever 
speaketh  a  woi-d,  (or  doeth  anything,  for  the  restriction  to  speak- 
ing w^as  entirely  owdng  to  the  circumstances  in  which  Christ  was 
then  placed,)  against  the  Son  of  man,  it  shall  be  forgiven  him, 
but  whosoever  speaketh  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  shall  not 
be  forgiven  him,  neither  in  this  world,  neither  in  the  world  to 
come."  A  characteristic  feature  of  him  who  sins  against  the 
Holy  Ghost  is,  that  he  knows  what  he  does.  This  sin  con- 
sists in  a  man's  intentionally  hardening  himself  against  the 
truth,  which  the  Holy  Ghost  presents  to  him,  by  means  of  an 
inward  and  most  efficient  action  on  his  mind.  Individual 
Jews  had  committed  the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
knew  wliat  they  did.  We  see  this  in  the  example  of  Judas, 
who  was  more  than  a  mere  separate  individual, — who  repre- 
sented a  class.  We  learn  the  same  thing,  further,  from  Mat- 
thew xii.  31,  32.  The  Lord  uttered  his  warning  concerning 
the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  presence  of  those  who 
were  on  the  point  of  committing  it,  or,  who  were  already  half 
involved  therein.  The  account  of  such  men  is  already  closed: 
it  were  better  for  them  had  they  never  been  born;  for  they 
can  never  attain  to  salvation,  and  there  is  nought  before  them 
but  "  a  fearful  looking  for  of  judgment  and  fiery  indignation; 
which  shall  destroy  those  who  resist."  In  regard,  however, 
to  the  mass  of  the  nation,  the  Lord,  the  heart-searcher,  gives 
us  the  comforting  assurance  that  they  know  not  what  they 
do,  that  they  have  not  committed  the  unpardonable  sin,  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  has  not  yet  exhausted  all  his  means  of  influ- 
encing them,  that  their  sin  is  predominantly  one  against  the 
Son  of  man.  Therewith  also  is  directly  connected  the  pledge, 
that  the  powerful  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit  will  be  rendered 
unto  them,  and  the  duty  laid  upon  us,  of  interceding  for 
them;  inasmuch  as  their  sin  is  not  that  "sin  unto  death," 
concerning  which  the  Apostle  writes,  "  I  do  not  say  that  ye 
shall  pray  for  it"  (1  John  v.  ]  6.)  In  connection  with  the 
declaration  of  the  Lord,  we  may  take  the  words  of  thechigf 
among  the  Apostles  in  Acts  iii.  17,  "And  now,  brethren,  I 
know   that  through  ignorance    ye  did  it,  as  did  also  your 


THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.       443 

rulers."  The  Old  Testament  prepares  the  way  for  the  New 
Testament  doctrine  of  the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  dis- 
tinguishing between  sins  which  are  committed  in  ignorance 
or  weakness,  and  presumj)tnous  sins,  that  is,  such  as  are  com- 
mitted with  a  high  hand.  For  the  former,  it  was  possible  to 
make  atonement  by  sacrifices, — under  the  New  Covenant,  by 
the  expiatory  sacrifice  of  Christ:  he,  only,  who  sinned  with  a 
high  hand  w^as  destroyed  from  his  people;  "  for  he  had  blas- 
phemed the  Lord,  and  despised  the  word  of  the  Lord"  (Num- 
bers XV.  27-31). 

A  still  more  solid  ground  of  hope  is  laid  by  the  declaration 
of  the  Lord  in  Matthew  xxiii.  38,  39,  "Behold  your  house  is 
left  unto  you  desolate.  For  I  say  unto  you,  ye  shall  not  see 
me  henceforth,  till  ye'  shall  say.  Blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord."  The  Lord  spake  these  words,  just  as 
he  was  on  the  point  of  quitting  the  Temple  for  ever.  The 
Temple  was  Israel's  house,  the  whole  nation  dwelt  therein 
spiritual!}^  with  the  Lord,  and  w^as  tended  by  Him  wdth  a 
fatherly  love  and  care:— such  is  the  view  to  be  found  in 
almost  every  part  of  the  Old  Testament  (compare,  for  example, 
Psalm  xxvii.  4,  xxxvi.  9,  Ixv.  5,  84.)  In  token  of  this  same 
thing,  the  Israelites  were  obliged  to  assemble  themselves  out- 
wardly before  the  Lord  in  Jerusalem  at  the  gi'eat  j^early 
festivals.  Spiritually  considered,  the  house  became  desolate 
at  the  moment  when  the  Son  of  God  left  it ;  for  the 
departure  of  the  Son  implied  the  departure  of  the  Father 
also.  From  that  hour  the  temple  was  a  spiritual  i-uin,  not- 
withstanding that  it  continued  to  retain  its  outward  gTandeur. 
Nor,  when  the  spiritual  desolation  is  accomplished,  can  the 
extei-nal  fail  soon  to  follow — it  must  come  in  its  time,  at  no 
distant  day.  Daniel,  in  chapter  ix,  prophesied  that  outward 
ruin  would  follow  in  the  traiti  of  the  destruction  of  the  Anointed 
One.  It  is  the  manner  of  God  to  throw  down  mere  appear- 
ances in  His  Kingdom,  to  destroy  visibly  that  which  is  spiri- 
tually a  ruin: — for  example,  the  secularization  of  monasteries, 
followed  on  their  degeneracy  into  worldliness.  Even  in  Eze-  >  n\r>iM 
kiel  (see  chapter  xi.  23)  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  represented  ...  ^ 
as  going  up  from  the  midst  of  the  city,  ere  the  implements  of  ^  3*"^^ 
punishment  are  employed.  That  which  was  then  effected  by  '>>^a/vv'I>,  • 
the  agency  of  the  Chaldeans,  the  Romans  wei'e  now  destined 


444  THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

to  accomplish.  But  destruction  is  uot  the  final  end  and  aim 
of  God's  dealing  with  the  people  of  His  choice.  From  this 
time  forth,  they  shall  not  see  him,  until  they  say,  "  Blessed  be 
He  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord."  In  this  is  clearly 
implied  that  at  some  future  day  they  will  speak  thus;  and 
that,  by  necessary  consequence,  they  will  see  Him,  whom  to 
see,  is  the  only  source  of  redemption.  The  Lord  put  inten- 
tionally, into  the  mouths  of  those  who  should  turn  to  Him, 
the  words  with  which  the  multitudes  had  once  welcomed  His 
approach  (Matthew  xxi.  9).  That  cry  had  originated  in  an 
inward  drawing  towai'ds  the  true  King  and  Kedeemer: — the 
fact  testified  to  the  existence  of  such  an  impulse- — an  impulse 
which  has  been  constantly  bursting  forth  afresh,  from  the 
furthest  background  of  consciousness,  even  in  times  of  the 
deepest  darkness.  However  long  it  may  be  kept  down  by 
powers  and  influences  opposed  to  God,  it  will  at  last  make 
way,  Bengel  remarks  with  perfect  justice,  "  He  does  not 
add  again,  ('  they  shall  say  again,  Blessed  &c.')  although 
the  people  had  once  already  thus  hailed  his  approach  (Mat- 
thew xxi.  9.)  For  they  had  not  all  cried  unto  him  thus,  and 
those  who  did  cry  to  him  understood  not  what  they  said,  as 
Israel  will  one  day  understand : — for  this  reason  they  retracted 
their  words  almost  immediately.  Formerly  they  spake  feebly, 
insufficiently :  the  next  time  they  will  speak  worthily  of  the 
name,  to  which  their  words  refer."^ — That  the  seeing  here  re- 
ferred to  is  such  as  may  take  place  before  the  second  coming 
of  Christ  is  evident  from  the  Lord's  own  words,  "  Where  two 
or  three  are  gathered  together  in  my  name,  there  am  I  in  the 
midst  of  them." 

Such  are  the  brief  but  pregnant  hints  given  by  the  Lord:* 
" the  Jews  will  be  converted;  the  Father  will  forgive  them; 

*  Some  have  found  an  allusion  to  the  future  conversion  of  the  Jews  in  those 
words  of  our  Lord,  Matthew  xxiv  32  ;  Mark  xiii.  28;  Luke  xxi.  29),  "Learn  a 
parable  of  the  fig-tree.  When  his  branch  is  yet  tender  and  putteth  forth  leaves, 
ye  know  that  summer  is  nigh."  "  The  fig-tree  occurs  elsewhere  as  a  symbol  of  the 
Jewish  nation,  and  it  is  used  so  here."  "The  sudden  conversion  and  collective 
deliverance  of  Israel  will  be  a  sign — a  prognostic  of  the  end"  (see  v.  Oetnngen, 
p.  203).  But  however  much  this  interpretation  may  commend  itself  at  first 
sight,  it  cannot  be  regarded  as  well-founded.  One  consideration  alone  decides 
against  it,  namely,  that  the  entire  discourse  of  the  Lord  refers  primari/i/  to  His 
coming  to  judge  Jerusalem;  as  verse  34,  explained  naturally,  expressly  informs 
us.    Moreover  the  Lord  himself  forbids  such  an  explanation,  by  saying  that  he 


THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHUIICII.  445 

and  they  will  attuin  to  a  participation  in  Chiist  and  liis  sal- 
vation." Less  is  said  than  many  might  perhaps  desire;  but 
all  is  promised  that  a  rightly  disposed  heart  can  long  after. 
There  are  no  privileges;  there  is  nothing  that  can  give  fresh 
occasion  to  say,  "  thus  doeth  he  not  to  any  of  the  heathen" — 
a  saying  which  must  be  entirely  forgotten  under  the  New 
Covenant.  However  hard  it  may  be  for  the  old  Jewish  man, 
Christians  ought  to  give  no  encouragement  to  its  claims.  A 
full  share  in  the  precious  redemption  gained  for  the  whole 
world  by  the  blood  and  death  of  the  Saviour  is  open  to  the 
Jews;  but  nothing  more. 

These  hints  are  further  carried  out  in  the  properly  locus 
classicus  on  this  subject,  namely,  Romans  xi.  And  we  may 
remark,  by  the  way,  that  the  Holy  Scriptures  are  furnished 
with  such  loci  classici,  around  which  other  utterances  may  be 
grouped,  on  all  important  subjects. 

The  Apostle  shows  what  hopes  may  be  entertained  for  the 
Jews,  firstly,  from  the  nature  of,  the  case,  and  from  facts 
which  are  within  everybody's  reach,  even  though  they  are 
not  favoured  with  peculiar  enlightenment.  It  is  of  course 
implied  that  there  is  divine  enlightenment  in  the  background, 
furnishing  a  pledge  that  we  have  not  to  do  with  a  mere  chain 
of  human  reasoning,  to  which  we  may  perchance  oppose  one 
that  is  still  more  acute.  Then,  in  ver.  25  ff,  he  comes  for- 
ward with  the  prophetical  aspect  of  his  Apostolical  vocation, 
and  in  the  form  of  a  revelation  of  a  mystery,  he  announces 
the  final  conversion  of  Israel.  This  latter,  is  evidently  the 
main  feature  of  the  whole  development;  other  considerations 
on  the  contrary  are,  at  the  best,  but  secondary:  for,  in  the 
course  of  his  revelation  of  the  mystery  the  Apostle  treats 
solely  and  entirely  of  the  conversion  of  the  Jews;  whereas 
in  his  previous  argument  he,  at  the  same  time,  directed  atten- 
tion to  the  blessed  consequences  which  were  to  result  to  the 
Christian  Church,  as  a  whole,  from  that  conversion. 

The  argument  drawn  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  is  con- 
centrated in  the  propositions — "  If  the  first  fruit  be  holy,  then 
is  the  lump  also  holy:  and  if  the  root  be  holy,  so  also  are  the 

only  refers  to  the  fig-tree  by  way  of  comparison.  That  the  fig-tree  comes  under 
notice  simply  in  its  qualitj  of  tree,  is  evident  from  Luke  xxi.  29,  "  Behold  the 

fig-tree,  and  all  trees." 


446  THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

branches  holy : " — "  if  thou  vvert  cut  out  of  the  olive-tree  which 
is  wild  by  nature,  and  wert  grafted  contrary  to  nature  into  a 
good  olive-tree;  how  much  more  shall  these  which  be  the 
natural  branches,  be  grafted  into  their  own  olive-tree."  The 
Apostle  starts  with  the  assumption,  that  the  covenant  with 
the  Patriarchs  primarily,  though  by  no  means  exclusively, 
concerned  their  physical  descendants;  that  to  them,  first  of 
all,  must  be  oftered  the  means  whereby  they  may  become  true 
members  of  the  true  Israel,  of  the  Church,  and  partakers  of 
salvation.  He  presupposes  that  this  ofter,  of  which  the  grace 
displayed  towards  the  sons  by  adoption  forms  a  new  pledge, 
has  not  yet  been  made  in  its  most  efticient  shape;  and  consi- 
ders it  unquestionable  that,  once  made,  it  will  have  results  of 
a  cheerful  and  important  kind. 

But  the  Apostle  does  not  content  himself  with  simply  an- 
nouncing the  conversion  of  the  Jews: — in  order  to  dispose 
the  heathen  Christians  to  be  very  mild  toward  the  Jews,  he 
points  out  what  a  happy  .thing  for  the  whole  Church  their 
conversion  will  prove.  This  he  does  in  two  propositions: — 
ver.  12,  "if  the  fall  of  them  be  the  riches  of  the  world,  and 
their  damage  the  riches  of  the  Gentiles,  how  much  more 
their  fulness;"  and  verse  15,  "if  the  casting  away  of  them 
be  the  reconciling  of  the  world,  what  shall  the  receiving  be, 
but  life  from  the  dead."  The  words,  "  how  much  more,"  of  the 
first  proposition  are  logical.  They  teach  us  that  between  the 
conversion  of  Israel  and  the  riches  of  the  heathen,  there  is  a 
much  more  inward  and  necessary  relation,  than  between  the 
rejection  of  the  former  and  the  riches  of  the  latter.  It  is  not 
an  increase  of  riches  that  is  announced :  it  is  not  that  the  con- 
version of  the  Jews  will  be  a  source  of  still  greater  blessing 
to  the  heathen,  than  their  rejection.  The  emphasis  in  verse 
15,  rests  on  both  the  words  "rejection"  and  "reception." 
Surely  we  are  not  to  imagine  that  this  "life  from  the  dead" 
is  higher  than  that  highest  thing  which  it  is  at  all  possible 
to  utter,  to  wit,  the  Atonement:  the  idea  must  rather  be,  that 
a  more  inward  and  necessary  connection  exists  between  the 
"  reception"  and  the  salvation  of  the  world,  than  between  the 
"rejection"  and  the  salvation  of  the  world.  From  chapter 
vi.  1 3,  where  the  Apostle  wi-ites  to  the  Christians  in  Kome, 
"  commit  yourselves  to  God  as  those  which  are  alive  from  the 


THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHKISTIAN  CHURCH.  44-7 

dead,"  and  from  Luke  xv.  24,  "this  my  son  was  dead  and  is 
alive  again,"  we  learn  what  to  understand  by  the  expression 
"life  from  the  dead" — we  learn  that  it  is  a  spiritual  re-enliv- 
enment,  and  awakening.  In  Apocalypse  iii.  1,  we  read,  "thou 
hast  a  name  to  live,  and  art  dead."  Verse  1 2  of  the  chapter 
under  consideration  tells  us  in  a  general  way,  that  the  con- 
version of  the  Jews  will  be  a  source  of  great  blessing  for  the 
heathen  Christians:  vei'se  15  describes  more  carefully  the 
kind  and  mode  of  the  blessing.  It  will  consist  in  this— that 
the  life  from  the  dead  to  which  the  Jews  awaken,  will  exert 
an  awakening,  a  quickening  influence  on  the  whole  Church. 
There  is  nothing  whatever  in  the  words  of  the  Apostle  to 
lead  us  to  conceive  of  the  Church  as  having,  up  to  this  point, 
been  totally  dead,  or  of  this  life  from  the  dead  as  the  only  one. 
Even  in  Churches  whose  life  is  most  energetic,  there  always  re- 
mains much  that  is  dead,  that  needs  reviving.  Their  most  living 
members  have  ever  much  that  is  dead  in  themselves.  Together 
with  wise,  there  are  also  the  foolish  virgins,  who  become 
weary  and  fall  to  sleep,  when  the  bridegroom  delays.  And 
therefore,  when  the  Apostle  distinctly  says  that  life  from  the 
dead  will  issue  forth  from  the  conversion  of  the  Jews,  he 
neither  denies  those  awakenings  which  it  did  not  lie  in  his 
present  purpose  to  consider,  nor  shows  any  intention  of  assign- 
ing them  a  subordinate  position.  He  does  not  in  general 
speak  comparatively.  It  was  sufficient  for  his  purpose,  that 
the  conversion  of  the  Jews  would  prove  in  a  high  degi'ee 
beneficial  to .  the  whole  •  Church,  and  that  connected  with  it 
there  would  be  a  grand  awakening.  And  here  we  may  re- 
mark, that  a  glorious  "  life  from  the  dead"  must  precede  the 
conversion  of  the  Jews.  This  conversion  can  only  be  regarded 
a.3  the  product  of  a  deep  awakening  in  the  Church,  which  is 
mainly  constituted  of  Heathen  Christians,  whose  own  fire 
wdll,  in  consequence  of  this  event,  be  made  to  burn  still  more 
fervently.  God's  method  is  not  to  work  directly,  or  so  to 
speak  specially,  in  his  kingdom :  He  always  works  on  men  by 
means  of  men.  Christians  are  not  made  except  by  Christians. 
But  all  doubts  are  excluded  by  the  consideration  that  the 
prophetical  announcements  of  the  Old  Testament  not  only 
represent  the  Jews  as  the  instruments  of  God  for  the  conver- 
sion  of  the  heathen   world,  but  also  the  converted   heathen 


448  THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

as  ths  instruments  by  which  the  restoration  of  Israel  will  be 
efFected.  But  to  this  end  they  must  needs  first  be  made  alive 
from  the  dead;   for  only  life  can  produce  life. 

In  the  course  of  his  revelation  of  the  mystery,  Paul  says, 
"  Blindness  in  part  is  happened  to  Israel," — (compare  verse  7, 
"  the  election  obtaineth  it;  the  rest  are  hardened") — "  until 
the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles  be  come  in  ;  and  so  all  Israel  will 
be  saved."  From  this  we  see  that  the  "  life  from  the  dead," 
which  Israel's  conversion  is  to  effect,  will  manifest  itself  within 
the  compass  of  the  Christian  Church,  principally  in  the  awak- 
ening of  its  outward  members,  and  not  in  missionary  work, 
carried  on  amongst  the  heathen  by  the  restored  Israel.  Indeed, 
of  this  latter  kind  of  activity  nothing  is  said  in  Old  Testament 
prophecy.  The  conversion  will  be  first  efFected,  when  the 
fulness  of  the  Gentiles  is  already  brought  in.  When  it  is  said, 
that  all  Israel  will  be  saved,  we  are  not  of  course  to  suppose 
that  every  individual  Jew  will  attain  to  the  salvation  of  Christ 
in  an  inward  and  living  way.  Such  a  view  would  necessarily 
-  lead  to  the  unscriptural  doctrine  of  the  restitution  of  all  things  ; 
for  if  one  nation  were  capable  of  redemption  as  a  nation,  it 
would  involve  the  like  capability  in  the  whole  human  race.  It 
is  further  at  variance,  both  with  the  parable  of  the  five  wise 
and  five  foohsh  virgins ;  with  the  words  of  our  Lord,  "  Enter 
in  at  the  strait  gate,  for  wide  is  the  gate  and  broad  is  the  way 
that  leads  to  destruction  ;  and  many  there  be  that  walk  therein. 
And  narrow  is  the  gate  and  strait  the  way  that  leads  to  life, 
and  few  there  be  that  find  it ;"  and  finally,  with  the  passages 
which  treat  of  the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost.  In  face ''of 
these  facts,  it  is  not  enough  to  say,  that  the  Scriptures  use  the 
word  all  "  with  a  certain  limitation,  either  expressed  or  im- 
plied ;"  as,  for  example,  in  Genesis  vi.  13,  "  The  end  of  all 
flesh  is  come  before  me  ;"  and  afterwards,  in  the  account  of 
the  plagues  of  Egypt.  A  more  thorough  limitation  is  neces- 
sary than  is  afforded  by  the  assertion,  that  a  decidedly  superior 
majority  may  be  described  as  all.  Such  a  limitation  as  we 
require  is  at  once  suggested  by  the  observation,  that,  as  pre- 
viously, the  "  fulness  of  the  heathen"  did  not  signify  the  entire 
number  of  individual  heathens,  so  here,  by  "  all  Israel,"  we 
are  to  understand,  not  every  individual,  but  the  national 
community  as  suc'i.      The  idea  is,  that  hatred  of  Christ  will 


THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH,  449 

cease  to  be  the  animating  principle  of  the  nation  as  a  nation ; 
and  that,  on  the  contraiy,  Christ  and  His  Church  wUl  become 
the  centre  and  focus  of  its  life.  Similariy,  it  is  remarked  by 
Philippi,  in  his  commentary  on  this  passage  (see  his  Romerbruf), 
"  the  (suTTipi'a  here  consists  in  the  objective  divine  act,  of  receiv- 
ing the  people  of  God  again  ijito  the  theocracy.  This  will 
extend,  without  exception,  to  the  whole  nation.  Means  and 
powers,  for  the  subjective  conversion  of  all  the  individuals  re- 
ceived into  the  kingdom  of  God,  are  thus  potentially  established, 
and,  as  may  be  foreseen,  they  will  operate  on  by  far  the  greater 
number  of  the  people.  Love,  that  hopeth  all  things,  sets  no 
limits  to  the  number  of  the  converted.  Elsewhere,  also,  the 
apostle  characterises  entire  Christian  communities  as  aylovi ; 
we  might  therefore  say,  looking  only  to  the  invitations  of 
God's  word,  and  the  gi'acious  influences  given  in  the  sacrament 
of  baptism,  at  the  present  day,  that  the  whole  of  Christian 
Europe,  as  distinguished  from  the  unbelieving  Jews  in  its 
midst,  have  become  participators  in  surripla." 

With  respect  to  the  time  when  the  conversion  of  Israel  will 
take  place,  the  apostle  has  not  expressed  himself  distinctly.  That 
it  must  be  after  the  termination  of  the  present  course  of  the  world, 
is  evident  from  the  circumstance  of  the  previous  bringing  in 
of  the  fulness  of  the  heathen.  It  may,  however,  be  assumed, 
that  the  close  of  the  present  historical  development,  which  is 
now,  with  rapid  strides,  drawing  nigh,  and  the  commencement 
of  God's  work  among  the  Jews,  will  meet  and  touch,  and  that 
both,  for  an  indefinite  period,  will  advance  together.  Dr. 
Philippi  concludes,  with  periect  justice,  from  verses  12,  15, 
where  blessed  results  for  the  entire  Church,  for  that  Church 
which  consists  chiefly  of  heathen  Christians,  are  represented 
as  flowing  from  the  conversion  of  the  Jews  ;  that  after  this 
conversion  "  a  new  development  in  the  kingdom  of  God  will 
be  initiated," 

Having  ascertained  the  existence  of  such  decided  testimonies 
to  a  future  conversion  of  the  Jews  in  the  New  Testament,  we 
may  go  to  the  Old  Testament,  with  the  expectation  of  finding 
this  hope  of  the  Church  clearly  and  distinctly  expressed :  nor 
are  we  deceived  in  our  anticipations.  There  are  many  passages 
which  cannot  be  referred  to  the  Christian  Chvirch  as  ihe  legi- 
timate continuation  of  Israel,  although  it  is  the  principal  object 
2f 


450  THE  JEAVS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

of  tlie  prophetical  proclamations,  but  concern  rather  the  ph}'- 
sical  posterity  of  the  Patriarchs. 

The  subject  of  the  second  part  of  the  Song  of  Songs,  from 
chapter  v.  2  to  the  end,  is,  "first,  the  offence  against  the  hea- 
venly Solomon,  and  the  judgment ;  then  the  repentance,  and  the 
re-union  which  is  effected,  with  the  co-operation  of  the  daughters 
of  Jerusalem  ;  that  is,  with  the  aid  of  those  same  converted 
heathen  nations  to  whom  they  themselves  had  previously 
brought  salvation.  Hereupon  the  old  relation  of  love  is  fully 
re-established,  and,  in  consequence,  the  daughter  of  Zion  takes 
up  once  more  her  position  in  the  centre  of  the  kingdom  of 
God.  In  contrast  to  the  instability  of  the  earlier,  the  new 
and  later  covenant  of  love  is  set  before  us  as  inviolable."  At 
present,  however,  we  can  only  just  allude  to  the  testimony  of 
the  Song  of  Songs.  Before  a  decided  stress  can  be  laid  upon 
it,  the  Church  must  be  stirred  up  to  the  formation  of  a  more 
settled  judgment  respecting  the  interpretation  of  that  book. 

But  Isaiah  Ixvi.  18-20  is  a  passage  of  brilliant  clearness. 
With  the  threatenings  which  he  had  uttered,  the  prophet  con- 
nects the  calling  of  the  healhen,  by  way  of  suitable  contrast 
to  the  rejection  of  a  gi-eat  part  of  the  covenant  people.  Then, 
in  verse  20,  he  adds  :  "  And  they  shaU  bring  all  your  brethren, 
out  of  all  nations,  for  an  offering  to  the  Lord,  upon  horses  and 
in  chariots,  to  m^y  holy  mountain  Jerusalem,  saith  the  Lord, 
as  the  children  of  Israel  bring  an  offering  in  a  clean  vessel  into 
the  house  of  the  Lord."'  The  subject  to  the  verb  "  bring"  is 
the  heathen,  to  whom  the  message  of  salva^tion  had  been  pro- 
claimed. These,  having  themselves  attained  to  salvation,  bring, 
as  an  offering  to  the  Lord,  the  former  members  of  His  king- 
dom. They  then,  and  not  the  heathen  who  had  believed,  are 
described  throughout  the  second  part  of  Isaiah  as  brethren. 
Salvation  passes  first  from  Israel  to  the  heathen,  and  then 
returns  from  the  latter  to  the  former. 

With  this  declaration,  in  which  Isaiah  takes  up  again  the 
announcement  of  chapter  xi.  ]  2, — "  The  Lord  setteth  up  an 
ensign  for  the  nations,  and  assembleth  the  outcasts  of  Israel, 
and  gathereth  together  the  dispersed  of  Judah  from  the  four 
corners  of  the  earth" — is  connected  the  proclamation  of  Ze- 
phaniah  :  "  Then  will  I  turn  to  the  people  a  pure  lip,  that  they 
may  aU  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord,  to  serve  Him  with 


TllK  JKAVS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CUURCH.  451 

one  shoulder.  From  beyond  the  rivers  of  Ethiopia  shall  they 
bring  my  suppliants,  the  daughter  of  my  dispersed,  for  a  meat- 
oftering."  *  The  pure  lip  of  the  heathen  nations  is  put  in  con- 
trast to  the  impure  lips  with  which  they  had  hitherto  called 
upon  their  idol  gods.  The  scattered  members  of  the  congre- 
gation beseech  the  Lord  to  receive  them  again  into  His  fellow- 
ship, and  this  their  cry  cannot  remain  unheard,  because  they 
who  utter  it  are  closely  related  to  the  Lord  ;  beciiuse,  althougli 
enemies  in  regard  to  the  Gospel,  they  are  beloved  according  to 
election,  and  for  the  fathers'  sake  (Romans  xi.  28).  "  Tlie 
daughter  of  my  dispersed,"  is  the  daughter,  or  community, 
which  consists  of  the  dispersed  of  the  Lord.  By  this  descrip- 
tion alone  we  are  led  to  think  of  the  dispersed  members  of  the 
old  congregation,  for  only  they  could  be  designated  "  the  dis- 
persed of  the  Lord."  Add  to  this  the  reference  to  Deuteronomy 
iv.  27  :  "  The  Lord  shall  scatter  you  among  the  nations"  (chap, 
xxviii.  64) — which  threat,  at  the  time  of  Zephaniah,  had 
ah-eady  been  executed  on  the  ten  tribes,  and  was  soon  to  begin 
to  be  executed  on  Judah.  In  the  symbolism  of  the  Mosaic 
law,  the  presentation  of  a  meat-offering  signified  zoal  in  good 
works,  which  is  the  characteristic  sign  of  the  saved.  One 
result  of  this  zeal  is  the  missionary  work,  in  which  the  heathens 
are  here  represented  as  engaging. 

After  the  return  from  the  Babylonish  captivity,  prophecy  once 
more  underwent  rejuvenescence  in  Zechariah.  In  chap.  xi.  and 
in  chap.  xiii.  7  he  displays  a  clear  knowledge  of  the  crime  which, 
at  a  future  day,  Israel  w^ill  commit  against  the  good  Shepherd, 
who  is  connected  with  the  Lord  by  a  secret  unity  of  nature,  and 
in  whom  the  angel  of  the  Lord  manifests  himself ;  but,  along 
therewith,  he  announces  also  Israel's  repentance.  4The  pro- 
phecy, extending  from  chap.  xii.  1  to  chap.  xiii.  G,  falls  into 
two  parts,  of  which  the  one  (chap.  xii.  l-f>)  describes  the  vic- 
tor}^ obtained  by  the  people  of  God  over  its  enemy,  the  heathen 
world;  and  the  other,  the  conversion  of  the  sons  of  the  kingdom. 

We  read  in  verse  1 0,  "  And  I  pour  out  upon  the  house  of 
David,  and  upon  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  the  spirit  of 
gi-ace  and  of  supplications  :  and  they  look  to  me  whom  they 
have  pierced,  and  tiny  mourn  over  him  as  one  mourneth  for 
his  only  son,  and  they  are  sad  for  him  as  one  that  is  sad  for 
his  firstborn."     Ver.  11,  "In  that  day  shall  there  be  a  great 


452  THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

mourning  in  Jerusalem,  as  the  mourning  of  Hadadrimmon  in 
the  valley  of  Megiddon."  Ver.  1 2,  "  And  the  land  mourneth, 
every  family  apart ;  the  family  of  the  house  of  David  apart, 
and  their  wives  apart ;  the  family  of  the  house  of  Nathan 
apart,  and  their  wives  apart."  Ver.  13,  "The  family  of  the 
house  of  Levi  apart,  and  their  wives  apart ;  the  family  of 
Shimei  apart,  and  their  wives  apart."  Ver.  14,  "All  the 
families  that  remain,  apart,  and  their  wives  apart."  Chapter 
xiii.  1,  "In  that  day  will  there  be  a  fountain  opened  to  the 
house  of  David,  and  to  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  for  sin 
and  uncleanness." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  fulfilment  of  this  prophecy 
does  not  belong  entirely  to  the  future.  We  learn  from  Luke 
xxiii.  48,  that  it  began  to  be  fulfilled  immediately  after  the 
crucifixion  of  Christ.  The  multitudes  w^hich,  a  short  time 
before,  had  cried,  "  crucify  Him,"  struck  by  the  proofs  of 
Christ's  superhuman  dignity,  smite  on  their  breasts,  bewailing 
him  who  is  dead  and  their  own  crime.  Then  began  a  grand 
movement,  which  ended  in  great  multitudes  of  penitent  Israel- 
ites being  received  into  the  bosom  of  the  Christian  Church. 
That,  however,  is  not  all ;  nor  is  it  enough  to  refer  to  the 
supplications  of  the  Jews  who,  in  every  century  of  the  Church's 
existence,  have  sought  and  found  in  Christ  a  fountain  for  sin 
and  uncleanness :  such  cases  form  rather  only  the  necessary 
prelude  to  the  real  and  comprehensive  fulfilment  of  the  pro- 
phecy. For  the  prophet  puts  forth  every  effort  in  ver.  11-14, 
to  depict  the  mourning  as  most  widely  diffused  and  most  in- 
tense in  its  character.  He  compares  it  with  a  mourning  of 
former  days, — with  that  most  painful  sorrow,  which  was  ex- 
perience^ by  the  whole  nation,  at  the  death  of  the  pious  King 
Josiah.  Then  he  names  two  of  the  principal  tribes,  and,  in 
order  to  indicate  that  the  conversion  will  be  a  thorough  one, 
going  from  the  beginning  to  the  end,  he  further  specifies  two 
of  the  chief  families  of  these  tribes,  associating,  with  them  all 
the  rest  of  the  families.  Thus  did  he  express  the  idea  of 
the  totality  of  the  nation,  and  declare,  with  Paul,  in  another 
form,  that  "  all  Israel"  should  be  saved. 

Such  are  the  hopes  for  the  Jews  which  the  Holy  Scriptures 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  aflford  us.  Everything  else 
gathers  round  the  declarations  of  Him  who  said,  "  Heaven  and 


THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.       453 

earth  shall  pass  away,  but  my  words  shall  not  pass  away,"  as 
round  a  centre.  A  visible  support  for  these  hopes  some  have 
in  all  ages  found  in  the  foot  that  the  Jews  have  been  kept 
through  so  many  centuries  and  so  many  dangers,  whilst  all 
their  neighbouring  nations  have  utterly  disappeared.  Joh. 
Gerhard,  for  example,  in  his  exposition  of  the  gi'ounds  for  a 
future  conversion  of  the  Jews,  says — "  To  this  must  be  added, 
that  of  the  oldest  nations  the  Jews  alone  have  been  preserved, 
notwithstanding  their  manifold  ftites,  captivities,  and  scatter- 
ings, and  have  been  separated  from  all  peoples  by  reUgion  and 
a  certain  form  of  civil  constitution.  All  which  appears  to 
imply  that  they  are  reserved  for  a  distinguished  conversion 
and  display  of  grace  in  the  future."  The  fact  is  undoubtedly 
a  very  remarkable  one.  They,  however,  have  gone  too  far  who 
have  found  a  prediction  thereof  in  the  words  of  the  Lord — 
"  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  this  race  shall  not  pass,  till  all  these 
things  be  fulfilled,"  (Matt.  xxiv.  34).  To  understand  by  "  this 
race,"  the  Jews,  is  the  efiect  of  an  exegesis  in  embarrassment, 
such  as  surely  ought  not  to  exist  at  this  late  period.  The 
explanation  which  first  suggests  itself,  "  this  generation,"  suits 
the  circumstances  of  the  time  admirably — there  were  then 
still  forty  years  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem :  it  accords 
with  the  principal  Old  Testament  passage  on  this  subject, 
Habakkuk  i.  5,  where,  in  reference  to  the  Chaldean  catastrophe, 
that  type  of  the  Roman  destruction,  which  again  was  a  type, 
a  microcosm,  of  the  judgment  of  the  world,  it  is  said,  "  I  work 
a  work  in  your  days :"  it  suits  verse  35,  where,  after  the 
time  had  in  a  general  way  been  determined, — that  is,  whilst 
the  generation  lasted, — the  exact  point  of  time  is  described 
as  hidden.  We  must  not  forget  to  notice  that  verse  36  does 
not  speak  of  time  in  general,  but  more  precisely  of  the  day 
and  hour. 

But  the  preservation  of  the  Jewi^  people  is  not  the  only 
visible  support.  In  all  ages,  hold  has  been  furnished  to  the 
hopes  of  the  thurch,  and  a  prelude  to  their  fulfilment,  by 
the  remarkable  individual  conversions  of  Jews  which  have 
taken  place.  During  the  Middle  Ages  a  Lyra  and  a  Paulus 
Burgensis  did  the  Church  excellent  service  by  their  gifts  in 
the  interpretation  of  Scripture  :  and  a  Hermann  von  Kappen- 
berg  adorned  it  by  his  .genuine  piety.     But  our  own  century 


454  THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

furnishes  unexampled  support  of  this  kind.  Many  facts  lead 
us  to  expect  that  the  way  is  being  prepared  for  the  revelation 
of  the  mystery  proclaimed  by  the  Apostle.  The  power  of 
Judaism  is  broken.  It  is  crumbling  to  pieces  before  our  eyes. 
Tlie  more  earnestly  therefore  is  the  Church  admonished  to  lay 
these  promises  to  heart.  It  is  not  a  question  of  destinies 
which  will  be  accomplished  without  its  co-operation.  Accord- 
ing to  prophecy  the  exalted  work  of  bringing  back  the  Jews 
is  entrusted  to  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem,  the  heathen  nations 
whose  conversion  went  forth  from  Jerusalem  :  and  now  that 
the  time  is  approaching  they  should  prepare  themselves  for 
commencing  their  work. 

Having  now  exhibited  those  hopes  for  the  Jews  which  are 
warranted  by  the  Scriptures,  let  us  now  go  on  to  consider 
more  carefully  those  which  are  unfounded. 


III.   EXAMINATION   OF  TEACHINGS  UNSUPPOETED 
BY  SCRIPTURE. 

We  have  shown  that  the  Church  builds  on  the  sure  founda- 
tion of  the  Word  of  God  when  it  hopes  for  the  future  conver- 
sion of  the  Jews,  and  expects  that  event  to  exert  a  mighty 
influence  on  its  whole  life.  We  propose  now  to  show  that 
whatever  goes  beyond  these  hopes,  as  cherished  by  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  with  few  exceptions,  in  all  ages,  is  of  men's  in- 
vention, and  based  on  incorrect  interpretations  of  the  Word 
of  God.  Although  our  task  is  now  mainly  a  negative,  de- 
structive one,  it  is  no  less  important,  provided  we  hit  the 
mark,  than  the  positive,  constructive  one.  It  is  said  in  Deu- 
teronomy vi.  2,  "  ye  shall  not  add  unto  the  word  which  I 
command  you,  neither  shall  ye  diminish  aught  from  it,  that 
ye  may  keep  the  commandments  of  the  Lord  your  God  which 
I  command  you."  That  which  is  here  said  primarily  in  regard 
to  the  commands  of  God,  is  expressly  applied  to  prophecy  in 
the  Apocalypse  (see  chap.  xxii.  18).  The  members  of  the 
Church  are  thus  most  emphatically  warned  to  be  on  their 
guard  against  any  fancies  of  their  own  in  respect  to  their  hopes 
of  the  future. 

The  opinion  which  we  have  to  test  by  the  Word  of  God  is 


THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.       455 

the  following  : — that  the  Jews  will  he  received  into  the  hosom 
of  the  Christian  Church  not  as  individuals,  hut  will  he  con- 
verted as  a  nation.  Dr.  Baumgarten  has  even  gone  so  far  as 
to  maintain  that  whereas  all  other  nationalities  will  perish, 
the  Jewish  will  again  gloriously  revive  and  flourish  ;  and  that 
the  Jewish  nation  will  return  to  Canaan  and  there  enjoy  the 
richest  physical  blessings.  In  Jerusalem,  splendidly  restored, 
the  temple  is  to  rise  afresh  with  its  sacrificial  rites,  and  to  form 
a  centre  for  the  entire  Christian  Church.  From  the  national 
and  social  life  of  Israel,  whose  centre  is  the  temple,  and  in 
which  divine  and  human,  spiritual  and  natural  elements  com- 
mingle and  interpenetrate,  joy  and  life  will  stream  forth  to  all 
nations.*  "  To  the  people  of  Israel  belongs,  once  for  all,  the 
destiny  to  be  receiver  and  mediator  of  divine  revelations. — 
As  a  priest  is  related  to  the  people,  so  is  the  kingdom  of  Israel 
related  to  humanity  : — it  is  the  medium  of  its  relations  to 
God. — Ever  since  they  were  rejected  divine  revelation  has 
been  dumb. — Hence,  if  revelations  are  to  begin  again  in  the 
kingdom  of  the  thousand  years,  converted  Israel  must  once 
more  take  up  its  position  at  the  head  of  mankind.  What  the 
glorified  priest-kings  are  in  heaven,  that  is  the  Israelitish 
priest-kingdom  on  earth. — Paul  is  the  Apostle  of  the  heathen, 
and  he  devoted  his  whole  life  to  their  conversion.  Yet  even 
he  regards  the  time  during  which  they  predominate  in  the 
kingdom  of  God,  and  Israel  are  excluded,  merely  as  an  inter- 
lude in  the  development  of  the  divine  kingdom." -f- 

Our  first  inquiry  is, — In  wdiat  relation  does  the  Neiv  Tes- 
tament stand  to  these  views,  so  peculiar,  and  so  unheard  of  in 
the  Christian  Church  for  many  centuries  ?  The  attempt  has 
naturally  been  made  to  bring  proofs  from  it,  in  their  favour : 
in  our  opinion  they  will  not  bear  a  strict  scrutiny.  "  The 
Lord  Himself,"  says  Dr.  Delitzsch,^:  "opens  up  the  prospect  of 
the  restoration  of  Jerusalem  in  Luke  xxi.  24,  and  when  the 
disciples  asked  him  at  what  time  he  would  restore  the  kingdom 
to  Israel,  He  refused  to  reveal  to  them  the  exact  time,  but  did 
not  deny  the  fact,"  (Acts  i.  G-8). 

*  Baumgarten,  "  Commentary  on  the  Pentateuch,"  vol.  ii. 
t  Auberlen,  "Der  Prophet  Daniel  und  die  Offenbarung  Johannis,"  S.  346-47, 
355. 

J  "Bibl.  Proph.  Theologie,"  S.  124. 


45  0  THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHKISTIAN  CHURCH. 

In  tlie  former  passage  (Luke  xxi.  24)  we  read,  "  And  Jeru- 
salem will  be  trodden  down  of  the  heathen,  until  the  times  of 
the  heathen  shall  be  fulfilled."  We  ought  not,  with  Prof 
Auberlen,  to  understand  by  the  "  times  of  the  heathen,"  the 
time  of  the  heathen-Christian  Church,  at  whose  close  Jerusalem 
shall  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  converted  Jews.  The  whole  context 
shows  that  the  "  heathen,"  can  be  no  other  than  the  heathen 
nations,  which  are  inimical  to  the  kingdom  of  God — not  those 
which  are  christianized.  This  is  evident,  both  from  the  "  tread- 
ing down,"  and  from  the  fact  that  the  heathenish  Romans 
made  a  commencement  thereof  when  they  took  Jerusalem. 
The  times  of  the  heathen  can  only  be  the  times  during  which 
God  suffers  the  heathen  to  tread  down  Jerusalem.  They  will 
come  to  an  end,  either  when  the  heathens  are  converted,  accord- 
ing to  the  announcement  in  Romans  xi.  25,  that  "  the  fulness 
of  the  Gentiles  shall  be  brought  into  the  kingdom  of  God  ;" 
or,  when  their  power  has  been  overthrown  by  the  Divine  judg- 
ments, and  a  Christian  dominion  established  in  its  place.  By 
way  of  prelude,  the  treading  down  of  Jerusalem  by  the  heathen 
(amongst  whom,  from  the  biblical  point  of  view,  must  be 
reckoned  the  Mohammedans)  has  already  twice  ceased — once 
under  Constantine,  and  once  in  the  time  of  the  Crusades,  when 
a  Christian  kingdom  existed  at  Jerusalem.  On  the  ground  of 
this  saying  of  the  Lord,  we  expect  a  final  and  definitive  reali- 
sation of  that  which  was  thus  temporarily  brought  to  pass, 
Jerusalem  will  once  more  be  brought  under  Christian  rule  : — 
this  event,  pledged  to  us  by  the  word  of  God,  historical  events 
have  made  it  now  easier  to  expect  than  ever  it  was  before. 
The  "  sick  man"  is  himself  more  and  more  giving  up  all  hope 
of  life,  in  sign  of  the  severity  and  hopelessness  of  his  disorder. 
Intelligent  travellers  testify  that  the  Turks  are  possessed  by  a 
conviction  that  their  day  is  nearly  at  an  end.  But  we  hear 
not  a  single  word  of  Jerusalem  delivered  being  given  to  the 
converted  Jews,  of  its  taking  up  a  position  in  the  centre  of  the 
world,  and  of  the  temple  being  erected  anew.  Bengel,  who 
altogether  took  the  right  view  of  the  passage,  remarks,  with 
perfect  justice,  "  It  does  not  teach  that  the  temple  and  its 
shadowy  service  will  be  re-established :  there  will,  notwith- 
standing, at  that  day,  be  many  Christians  there,  as,  indeed, 
many  are  there  now  ;  and  they  wiU  be  of  the  people  of  Israel" 


THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.  457 

Jerusalem  will  undoubtedly  become  the  portion  of  Israel ;  but 
of  the  Israel  of  the  Christian  Church* 

In  the  second  passage,  adduced  by  Dr  Delitzsch,  namely, 
Acts  i.  6-8,  the  apostles  ask  the  Lord,  after  His  resurrection, 
"  Lord,  wilt  thou  at  this  time  restore  again  the  kingdom  to 
Israel  ?  But  He  said  \into  them,  it  is  not  for  you  to  know  the 
times  or  the  seasons,  which  the  Father  hath  put  in  His  o^vn 
power ;  but  ye  shall  receive  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
coming  upon  you,  and  shall  be  witnesses  unto  me,  both  in 
Jerusalem  and  in  all  Judea,  and  in  Samaria,  and  to  the  utter- 
most part  of  the  earth."  "  At  His  departure,  the  Lord  pro- 
mises his  disciples,  first  the  Church,  then  the  kingdom  ;"■{-  but 
not  a  word  is  spoken  concerning  the  Jews.  What  the  apostles, 
who  had  not  yet  received  the  Holy  Ghost,  understood  by 
Israel,  may  be  a  matter  of  indifference  to  us.  In  any  case, 
the  Lord  puts  into  the  term  Israel  the  higher  scriptural  idea 
and  meaning  which  it  bears  throughout  the  New  Testament. 
Israel  is  the  Christian  Church,  consisting  of  the  one  stock  of 
believers  of  the  ancient  covenant  people,  into  which  believers 
from  the  heathen  are  received,  who,  though  spiritually  depen- 
dent on  the  original  sap  and  roots,  yet  enjoy  the  full  rights  of 
citizens.  To  gather  together  this  Israel  from  the  Jews,  and 
from  the  whole  heathen  world,  is  the  next  great  task.  Then, 
in  due  time,  will  the  kingdom  be  bestowed  upon  Him, — that 
kingdom  of  glory,  described  in  Apocalypse  xxi.  and  xxii.,  with- 
out any  trace  of  a  preference  of  the  Jews. 

Prof  Auberlen  finds  also  in  Matthew  xix.  28,  an  allusion 
"  to  an  earthly  Israelitish,  though  not  a  fleshly,  kingdom  of 
gloiy,"  and  draws  from  the  passage  the  conclusion  that,  "  Jesus, 
like  all  the  prophets  and  apostles,  was  a  Chiliast."-f-  We  have, 
however,  already  shown  that  the  expression,  "  twelve  tribes  of 
Israel,"  which  the  Lord  employs,  is  not  a  desig-nation  of  the 
Jews,  but  of  the  entire  Christian  Church.  Even  if  his  words 
referred  to  the  "  kingdom  of  the  thousand  years,"  it  could  not 
involve  a  reference  to  the  Jews,  for  there  is  no  allusion  what- 
ever to  them  in  the  lociis  classicus  concerning  that  kingdom. 

•  The  absurd  undertaking  of  Chr.  Hoffmann  and  others  in  Wiirtemberg,  ought 
'Bot  to  have  been  met  by  the  objection,  that  only  bom  Jews  are  destined  to  the 
possession  of  Jerusalem,     Sound  exegesis  is  decidedly  in  their  favour. 

t  Auberlen,  S.  357. 


458  THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

But  we  ,are  not  warranted  in  assuming  that  tlie  Lord's  words 
did  refer  to  the  "  thousand  years'  kingdom."  Even  Bengel 
says,  "  the  promise  given  to  the  apostles  looks  beyond."  The 
regeneration,  that  is,  the  restoration  to  the  condition  depicted 
in  Genesis  i.,  the  complete  frustration  of  the  consequences  of 
the  fall,  presupposes  the  disappearance  of  death  and  sin, — both 
which  are  represented  as  continuing  during  the  "  thousand 
years'  kingdom."  The  passage  in  question  directs  attention  to 
the  days  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  after  the  "  thousand  years' 
reign,"  (see  Apocalypse  xxi.  2),  to  the  new  heaven  and  the  new 
earth,  (see  chap.  xxi.  1),  to  that  which  is  signified  in  the  words, 
"  Behold,  I  make  all  things  new,"  (verse  5).  To  the  Lord's 
mention  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel  corresponds  that  of 
Apocalypse  xxi.  1  2.  The  glory  promised  to  the  apostles  is 
manifestly  a  lasting  one,  such  as  can  only  be  realised  in  the 
New  Jerusalem.  Or  are  we  to  suppose  that  the  apostles  will 
again  descend  from  their  thrones  at  the  end  of  the  thousand 
years  ? 

Prof  V.  Hoffmann  (see  his  Schriftbeweis  ii.,  2,  s.  7(i)  urges 
that,  notwithstanding  the  rejection  of  the  Jews,  Christ  calls 
Jerusalem  "the  holy  place"  (Luke  xxi.  20  ;  compare  Matthew 
xxiv.  ]  5),  even  at  the  very  moment  when  he  was  speaking  of 
the  judgment  with  which  his  people  were  to  be  visited.  But 
the  designation,  "  lioly  place,"  is  never  elsewhere  used  but  of 
the  Temple,  and,  following  the  principal  passage,  Daniel  ix.  27, 
we  can  tliink  of  nothing  else  in  Matthew  xxiv.  15.  The 
parallel  passage  in  Luke  furnishes  no  evidence  in  favour  of 
Jerusalem  :  the  Lord  had  given  two  tokens  of  the  impending 
destruction,  an  internal  one,  recorded  by  Matthew,  and  an  ex- 
ternal one  complementarily  added  by  Luke.  Moreover,  not  a 
word  is  said  implying  that  the  Temple  will  continue  to  be 
sacred  after  the  destruction  :  on  the  contrary,  the  holy  place, 
having  been  internally  desecrated  by  the  "  abomination,"  must 
of  necessity  be  destroyed,  and  outwardly  proftmed. 

Importance  has  also  been  attached  to  the  fact,  "  that  imme- 
diately after  giving  an  account  of  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus, 
Matthew  calls  Jerusalem  the  holy  city,"''''  (Matthew  xxvii.  53). 
But  he  does  so,  evidently  not  because  of  its  future  importance, 
but  because  of  the  great  events  of  which  it  had  been  the  scene 
♦  V.  Hoffman,  S.  77. 


THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRiafflAN  CHUllCH.  459 

in  the  past.  Had  not  Jerusalem  been,  shcrtly  before,  the 
theatre  of  the  most  glorious  doings  in  the  history  of  the  ^vorld  ? 
We  might,  with  the  same  fairness,  conclude,  from  Peter's  de- 
signating the  mount  of  glorification  "the  holy  mountain,"  that 
this  mountain  will,  at  a  future  day,  be  glorified  ;  or,  from  the 
mention  of  Horeb,  the  mount  of  Cod,  in  1  Kings  xix.  8,  judge 
that  in  the  future  God  will  once  more  reveal  Himself  on 
Horeb.  Tlie  9,ncient  Jerusalem  is  even  yet  the  holy  city,  in 
the  eyes  of  such  as  direct  their  expectant  gaze  solely  to  the 
Neiu  Jerusalem. 

Peter  is  asserted  to  have  had  in  view  "  the  glory  of  an  exter- 
nal kingdom,"*  when  he  said,  in  Acts  iii.  lD-21,  "  Repent  ye 
therefore,  and  be  converted,  that  your  sins  may  be  blotted 
out,  that  times  of  refreshing  may  come  from  the  presence  of 
the  Lord,  and  that  He  may  send  Jesus  Christ,  which  before 
was  ofiered  unto  you  ;  who  must  take  possession  of  heaven, 
until  the  time  of  the  restitution  of  all  things,  which  Cod  hath 
spoken  by  the  mouth  of  all  His  holy  prophets  since  the  world 
began."  But  the  "  times  of  refreshing"  are  identical  with  the 
"regeneration,"  spoken  of  in  Matthew  xix.  28  ;  and  the  one 
has  as  little  to  do  with  the  "  thousand  years' reign"  as  the 
other  :  still  less  has  the  passage  anything  to  do  with  the  sup- 
posed "  glory  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel."  That  the  detailed 
description  thereof  is  given  in  Apocalypse  xxi.  22,  is  ascertain 
as  that  its  advent  is  set  forth  as  contemporaneous  v/ith  the 
reappearance  of  Christ.  Were  we  to  suppose  it  to  precede  the 
"  thousand  years'  kingdom,"  Christ  would  be  besieged  in  the 
"  beloved  city"  by  Gog  and  Magog  (Apocalypse  xx.  9),  and  we 
should  be  compelled  to  imagine  a  second  Passion.  It  is  not 
to  be  forgotten,  that  when  Peter  represents  the  inauguration 
of  the  glorious  future  of  the  kingdom  of  God  as  "  dependent 
on  the  repentance  and  conversion  of  Israel,"  he  is  addressing 
Jews.  They  are  to  do  their  part  towards  rendering  possible 
the  blessed  appearance  of  Christ.  The  same  thing  holds  true 
of  the  heathen.  Their  conversion  also  must  precede  the  second 
coming  of  Christ. 

It  is  thought  that,  when  St.  Paul  says  in  Romans  xi.  26, 
"  there  shall  come  out  of  Zion  the  Deliverer,"  he  takes  up 
arms  "  against  those  who  wished  to  have  the  physical  Zion 

*  Auberlen,  S.  355. 


460  THE  JEWS  AN»  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

regarded  only  as  the  commencing,  and  not  also  as  the  final 
scene  of  the  New  Testament  redemptive  revelations.'"""  But 
what  appropriateness  would  there  then  be  in  the  expression 
out  of  Zion?  On  the  modern  theory,  the  Jews  are  not  to 
he  led  back  to  Jerusalem  till  after  their  conversion.  Then 
first  shall  Christ  make  his  abode  in  Jerusalem.  That  the 
Deliverer  is  to  come  out  of  Zion,  shows  clearly  that  the  phy- 
sical Zion  cannot  possibly  be  meant.  The  more  importance 
must  be  attached  to  the  phrase,  "  out  of  Zion,"  as,  by  an  al- 
teration which  all  analogy  would  show  to  be  intentional,  the 
Apostle  has  inserted  the  words  "out  of"  into  the  Old  Testa- 
ment quotation.  Isaiah  lix.  20,  the  passage  to  which  the 
Apostle  refers,  reads  in  the  original  text,  "  and  there  cometh 
to  (or,  for)  Zion  a  redeemer:"  the  Septuagint  rendering  is  "on 
account  of  Zion."  The  Apostle  could  never  have  designed  to 
give  the  Jews  the  high  title  of  Zion,  to  the  undervaluing  of  the 
Christian  Church.  He  rather  teaches  that  the  true  Zion  exists 
in  all  ages,  that  it  exists  before  the  conversion  of  the  Jews, 
and  that  salvation  will  come  to  the  Jews,  from  the  Saviour 
who  is  present  in  and  with  his  Church.-f- 

We  have  thus  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  the  New  Tes- 
tament does  not  contain  the  slightest  allusion  to  the  supposed 
"  glory  of  the  future  kingdom  of  Israel."  The  importance  of 
this  result  will  be  manifest,  if  we  consider  how  frequently 
inducements  presented  themselves,  to  mention  that  future 
glory,  if  there  were  really  a  prospect  of  it.  For  example, 
when  the  Lord  announced  so  emphatically  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem,  saying,  "  Seest  thou  all  these  great  buildings  ? 
Not  one  stone  shall  be  left  on  another  which  shall  not  be 
broken,"  how  easily  might  He  have  added  a  hint  of  its  future 
restoration,  were  it  really  appointed  to  take  place.  It  must 
especially  surprise  to  find  in  Matthew  xxii.  39,  not  a  single 
word  of  the  rebuilding  of  the  house,  but  merely  to  be  told 


•  V.  Hoffmann  S.  77. 

t  So  even  Fr.  Junius,  as  quoted  by  Tholuck,  "Paulus  vero  jam  non  dicit 
venturum  Sioni,  venerat  enim,  sed  pro  ratione  temporis,  venturum  ex  Sion,  i.  e. 
ex  ecclesia,  sua  utJudceis  beneficiat,"  on  which  words  Tholuck  remarks,  "  if  this 
view  be  correct,  Paul's  idea  would  be  that  the  missionary  efforts  which  are  to 
produce  such  large  results  among  the  Jews  will  be  put  forth  by  the  Gentile 
Church." 


THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.  461 

that  they  will  see  the  Lord.  The  same  remark  may  be  made  in 
respect  to  the  proclamations  of  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 
If  the  physical  Jerusalem  is  really  to  become  again,  in  the 
future,  the  place  of  salvation  and  blessing  for  the  whole  earth, 
how  can  we  account  for  the  utter  absence  of  any  hints  of 
such  an  exaltation  in  the  prophetic  announcements  of  Christ? 
Further,  in  Romans  xi,  w^iere  the  Apostle  discusses  most  care- 
fully the  future  prospects  of  the  Jews,  we  naturally  expect 
all  essential  points  to  be  enumerated:  and  yet  the  Apostle 
says  not  a  single  word,  of  a  new  Church  of  the  Jews,  of  the 
restoration  of  Jerusalem,  of  the  rebuilding  of  the  Temple,  or 
indeed  at  all  of  a  return  of  the  former  "  beggarly  elements." 
Great  stress  must  be  laid  too  on  the  silence  of  the  Apocalypse. 
It  is  the  book  in  which  the  Lord  confirms  His  promise  to 
reveal  future  things  to  his  Apostles,  recorded  in  John  xvi.  1 3. 
It  is  the  prophetic  poiiion  of  the  New  Testament.  The  New 
Testament  comprises  no  other  prophetical  book.  In  an  un- 
broken Hne  it  passes  on  from  the  day  of  the  Seer  to  the  New 
Jerusalem.  Its  attention  is  directed  not  only  to  the  outward 
fortunes  of  the  Church  but  also  to  its  internal  state.  The 
greater  the  stress  laid  on  the  "future  gloiy  of  the  kingdom 
of  Israel,"  the  more  decidedly  faith  is  demanded  for  it,  so 
much  the  more  impossible  does  it  appear  that  complete  silence 
should  be  observed  in  the  Apocalypse  concerning  this  return 
of  the  kingdom  of  God  from  its  end  to  its  beginning.  Yet  it  is 
a  fact  that  there  is  not  the  least  hint  thereof:  and  Vitringa 
remarks  with  perfect  justice — "  in  this  book  there  is  no  spe- 
cial mention  whatever  of  the  Jewish  Christians  in  distinction 
from  the  heathen  Christians,  for  the  plain  and  simple  reason, 
that  under  the  new  economy  all  national  distinctions  in  mat^ 
ters  of  religion  are  abolished.  Nowhere  in  the  whole  of  the 
Apocalypse  can  we  find  prophecies  which  affect  the  Jews,  so 
far  as,  in  matters  of  religion,  they  are  opposed  to  the  heathen." 
What  Prof  Auberlen  has  said  in  explanation  of  this  silence,  con- 
ceded even  by  him,  to  wit,  that  it  was  intended  for  a  heathen- 
Christian  age,  "that  it  was  a  handbook  of  travel  for  the 
Churches  gathered  from  the  midst  of  heathens,  that  Israel  has 
already  Daniel  and  the  other  prophets,"  is  certainly  not  sufii- 
cient.  For,  on  the  one  hand,  the  only  prophetical  book  of 
the  New  Testament  could  not  pass  over  in  silence  that  most 


462  THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

important  of  all  catastrophes;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament  may  not  be  transferred  to  the 
Church  of  the  New  Covenant  without  further  consideration — 
they  need  elucidation,  and  must  be  first  stamped  with  the  seal 
of  confirmation.  The  word  of  God,  which  is  a  light  to  the 
Church  in  all  its  ways,  could  not  surely  leave  it  to  itself  and 
its  own  fancies  in  so  extremely  important  a  matter  as  this. 
We  are  no  more  warranted  in  deducing  hopes  for  the  future 
from  the  Old  Testament  alone,  than  we  are  in  deducing 
dogmas.  But  on  examining  the  prophets  of  the  Old  Cove- 
nant more  narrowly,  we  discover,  as  the  silence  of  the  New 
Testament  must  lead  us  to  anticipate,  that  they  also  know 
nothing  of  the  "  future  glory  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel,"  in  the 
sense  which  is  at  present  in  such  high  favour. 

We  need  not,  however,  appeal  merely  to  the  silence  of  the 
New  Testament.  It  contains  a  series  of  express  testimonies 
against  this  idea  of  the  "future  glory  of  the  kingdom  of 
Israel." 

The  first  testimony  of  importance  is  contained .  in  the 
words  spoken  by  Jesus  to  the  woman  of  Samaria,  who  had 
asked  of  Him,  as  a  prophet,  light  on  the  ancient  dispute  be- 
tween the  Jews  and  the  Samaritans.  She  says,  "  Our  Fathers 
worshipped  in  this  mount,  and  ye  say,  that  Jerusalem  is  the 
place  where  one  ought  to  worship;"  and  Jesus  answered, 
"woman,  believe  me,  the  hour  is  come  when  neither  in  this 
mount,  nor  in  Jerusalem,  ye  shall  worship  the  Father.  The 
hour  Cometh  and  now  is,  when  the  true  worshippers  shall 
worship  the  Father  in  spirit  and  in  trath,  for  the  Father 
seeketh  such  to  worship  Him."  With  this  utterance  of  the 
Lord,  the  idea  that  Jerusalem  will  once  again  in  the  future, 
acquire  the  position  and  importance  of  a  centre,  is  irrecon- 
cilable. Christ's  words  put  an  end  to  the  localization  of  the 
kingdom  of  God  for  the  whole  period  of  the  New  Testament. 
Bengel  already  clearly  discerned  this :  he  remarks,  "  the  Sama- 
ritans were  not  under  obligation  to  go  to  Jerusalem  (Acts 
viii.  14);  why  then  were  the  Crusades  afterwards  necessary?  ^/ 
What  purposes  are  served  by  pilgrimages?  That  distinction 
of  place,  of  which  the  ancients  were  so  observant,  is  here  utterly 
abolished.  If  any  distinction  at  all  remains,  these  words 
direct  us   to  worship  anywhere,  rather  than  in  Jerusalem." 


THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.       4G3 

This  declaration  of  the  Saviour,  setting,  as  it  does,  Jerusalem 
and  Samaria  on  the  same  level  as  regards  their  relation  to  his 
Church,  would  have  been  found  objectionable  by  the  friends 
of  the  "future  glory  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel,"  had  it  pro- 
ceeded from  any  other  lips. 

In  view  of  Peter's  words  to  the  Christians,  "  you  are  the 
chosen  people,  the  royal  priesthood,  the  holy  nation,  the  pecu- 
liar people"'  (1  Peter  ii.  9);  and  knowing  that  he  assigns  to 
them  all  the  privileges,  which  Moses  specially  promised  to 
Israel  in  Exodus  xix.  5,  6,  it  is  incomprehensible  how  any  one 
can  venture,  on  the  ground  of  the  latter  pjussage,  to  claim  for 
the  Jews  of  the  future,  the  priestly  office  in  the  kingdom  of 
God,  and  exalt  them  to  the  rank  of  a  spiritual  nobility.  'Such 
an  opinion,  moreover,  clashes  with  the  Old  Testament,  in  its 
bestowal  of  priestly  functions  on  the  converted  heathen  (Isaiah 
Ixvl  20),  and  in  its  express  declaration,  "I  will  also  take  of 
them  for  Levitical  priests"  (ver.  21).  Professor  Auberlen, 
who  even  goes  so  far  as  to  compare  the  difference  between  the 
converted  Jews  of  the  future  and  heathen  Christians,  to  that 
between  the  man  and  the  woman,  has  certainly  not  done  jus- 
tice to  these  words  of  the  Apostle.  Nor  does  past  experience 
afford  any  support  to  such  an  expectation.  The  prophets  and 
apostles,  the  men  who  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  must  not  be  adduced  without  further  consideration. 
Such  a  course  would  lead  to  a  dangerous  mixing  up  of  the 
ordinary  and  extraordinary  gifts  of  God.  From  the  Apostles 
down  even,  to  the  present  day  individual  converted  Jews  have 
rendered  excellent  service  to  the  Church,  and  have  not  a  little 
strengthened  our  hope  and  confidence  in  that  "  life  from  the 
dead"  which  Paul  connects  with  a  more  general  conversion  of 
the  Jews:  but  we  search  in  vain  for  Jews  who  should  cast 
into  the  shade  such  men  as  Augustine,  Bernhard,  Thomas 
Aquinas,  Thomas  a  Kcmpis,  Luther,  and  Scriver.  Nothing 
loftier  than  that  which  these  men  embodied  in  life,  can  be 
expected  from  poor  moi-tals.  "The  Israelitish  kingdom  of 
priests  on  earth"  cannot  but  be  "  laden  with  inborn  sin,  weak- 
ness, want,  and  death,"  as  well  as  with  much  else  that  will 
unavoidably  accompany,  into  its  new  sphere  of  life,  a  nation 
that  has,  for  long  centuries,  been  alienated  from  the  truth  to 
which  it  then  submits.     Tliat  these  centuries  have  not  passed 


4G4  THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

away  without  leaving  traces  behind,  that  the  Jews  are  not 
now  in  the  condition  in  which  they  were  at  the  time  of  the 
Apostles,  that  they  can  only  be  elevated  by  degrees  through 
the  purifying  influence  of  the  Christian  Church,  is  proved 
clearly  enough  by  our  experiences  in  connection  with  the 
great  majority  of  proselytes.  We  should  find  ourselves  very 
much  deceived  if  we  expected  them  immediately  after  their 
conversion  to  take  their  stand  as  the  model  of  a  Christian 
nation,  as  a  priestly  race,  fitted  to  represent  the  entire  Church 
before  God.  Eminent  individuals  are  not  wanting,  men  of 
peculiar  worth  and  gifts,  who  exert  a  deep  and  wide  influ- 
ence on  the  Church,  not  only  of  one  country,  but  of  many 
countries.  On  the  whole,  however,  Zephaniah's  words  wiU 
remain  true,  "  I  will  leave  in  the  midst  of  thee  a  poor  and 
small  people,  and  they  shall  trust  in  the  name  of  the  Lord." 

The  words  of  the  Lord  in  Matthew  xxi.  43,  "therefore  say 
I  to  you,  the  kingdom  of  God  will  be  taken  from  you,  and  be 
given  to  a  people  which  bringeth  its  fruits,"  affbrd  little  pro- 
spect of  a  new  and  glorious  Israel itish  kingdom.  He  repre- 
sents the  period,  during  which  born  heathens  constituted  but 
a  subordinate  element  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  as  near  its  close. 
He  afiirms  without  limitation  that  the  kingdom  of  God  is 
destined  to  be  transferred  to  the  new  community,  in  connec- 
tion with  which  the  wild  branches  of  heathendom  are  grafted 
into  the  good  olive-tree  of  Israel.  If  this  is  to  be  "  a  mere 
interlude  in  the  development  of  the  divine  kingdom,"  we  should 
surely  expect  a  hint  thereof  even  in  this  place,  and,  of  course, 
elsewhere,  clear  and  distinct  information  thereanent.  Whereas, 
neither  is  the  case.  The  statement  here  is  to  all  appearance 
a  definitive  one  :  and  not  a  hint  is  contained  in  Eomans  xi.  of 
a  mere  "  interlude."  The  apostle  represents  the  Jews  as  being 
grafted  again  into  the  olive-tree,  but  with  no  other  rights  than 
those  of  the  heathen  who  have  their  fuU  share  of  the  roots 
and  of  the  sap. 

Decisive,  further,  against  a  future  restoration  of  the  physi- 
cal Jerusalem,  are  aU  those  passages  of  the  New  Testament  in 
which  Zion  and  Jerusalem  are  employed,  in  the  spiritual  sense, 
to  designate  the  Church.  They  plainly  imply  that  the  day  of 
the  physical  Jerusalem  is  for  ever  gone  by.  Their  signifi- 
cance is  aU  the  greater,  from  tliis  mode  of  speaking  about 


THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.       465 

Zion  and  Jerusalem  being  so  clearly  defined,  and  so  fi-equent 
throughout  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament.  We  have 
already  considered  Romans  xi.  In  Galatians  iv.  26,  the 
apostle  contrasts  the  Jerusalem  which  is  above,  the  Church  of 
the  New  Covenant,  whose  proper  seat  is  in  heaven,  because 
there  dwells  its  head,  and  there  also  have  its  citizens  their 
citizenship,  (PhiUppians  iii.  20),  with  the  "  Jerusalem  that  now 
is."  In  Hebrews  xii.  22,  we  read,  "Ye  are  come  to  Mount 
Zion,  and  to  the  city  of  the  living  God,  to  the  heavenly  Jeru- 
salem." In  the  Apocalypse,  Jerusalem  is  never  used  as  a 
designation  of  the  city  commonly  so  called  :  it  is  invariably 
a  designation  of  the  Church,  partly  as  in  its  present  condition 
(see  chap.  xx.  9,  where  "  the  beloved  city,"  is  no  other  than 
Jerusalem),  and  partly  as  in  the  state  of  perfection  to  which 
it  is  destined  to  attain  (chap.  iii.  12  ;  xiv.  1-5  ;  xxi.  2,  10). 
How  unnatural  then  to  force  in  a  renewal  of  the  old  physical 
Jerusalem,  between  the  spiritual  Zion  of  the  present  course  of 
the  w^orld,  and  the  spiritual  Zion  of  the  future — that  city 
which  Cometh  down  from  heaven  as  a  bride  adorned  for  her 
husband.  Thus  to  direct  again  our  looks  to  the  earthly  Jeru- 
salem, after  that,  through  the  word  of  God,  such  modes  of 
looking  at  things  have  been  naturalized,  and  have  struck  deep 
roots  among  us,  is  surely  to  build  up  again  that  which  had 
been  destroyed.  Instead  of  this,  we  ought  to  rejoice  and  be 
thankful,  that  we  are  made  free  from  the  earthly  Jerusalem 
and  everything  connected  wdth  it. 

It  is  inconceivable  also  that  the  Temijle  should  be  rebuilt, 
now  that,  under  the  New  Testament,  it  has  taken  a  spiritual 
character.  To  re-erect  the  temple  would  be  an  anachronism  : 
and,  in  such  a  case,  we  might  apply  the  words  of  the  apostle, 
"  having  begun  in  the  spirit,  are  ye  now  made  perfect  by  the 
flesh  ?"  The  way  was  prepared  for  this  spii'itualization  even 
in  the  Old  Testament.  The  tabernacle  and  the  temple  bore  a 
symbolical  character:  they  were  the  image  of  the  kingdom  of 
God  amongst  Israel.  This  is  suggested  even  by  the  name  of 
the  tabernacle ;  it  sig-nified  "  Tent  of  meeting,"  the  place  where 
God  came  together  with  his  people,  had  communion  with  them: 
further  also  by  Leviticus  xvi.  16,  where  all  the  children  of 
Israel  are  represented  as  dwelling  with  the  Lord  in  His  tent : 
the  tent  therefore  was  nothing  but  a  visible  symbol  of  the 


466  THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

Church'.  In  a  long  series  of  passages  from  the  Psalms,  the 
tabernacle  and  temple  are  said  to  be  the  places  where  believers 
dwell  spiritually  with  the  Lord.  To  the  temple  it  was  essen- 
tial to  be  the  only  one.  Only  in  such  case  could  it  outwardly 
represent  the  Church.  It  was  equally  essential  that  all  the 
members  of  the  congregation  should  present  themselves  per- 
sonally every  year  in  the  temple.  Under  the  New  Covenant 
the  symbol  has  cast  off  its  corporeal  garment.  The  temple  now 
denotes  simply  the  Church  ;  and  every  one  of  the  passages 
referred  to  has  the  force  of  an  express  declaration  that  the 
time  of  the  outward  temple  has  departed.  Compare,  for 
example,  1  Timothy  iii.  1 5,  "  that  thou  mayest  know  how 
thou  oughtest  to  walk  in  the  house  of  God,  which  is  the 
Church  of  the  living  God  ;"  2  Corinthians  vi.  1 6,  "  Ye  are  the 
temple  of  the  living  God;"  Apocalypse  iii.  12,  "Him  that 
overcometh  will  I  make  a  pillar  in  the  temple  of  my  God,  and 
he  shall  no  more  go  out;"  John  ii.  19;  Mark  xiv.  58  ;  1 
Corinthians  iii.  17  ;  Ephesians  ii.  21,  22  ;  2  Thessalonians  ii 
4  ;  Hebrews  iii.  6  ;  Apocalypse  xi.  1  ;  xiii.  6. 

We  shall  find  it  inconceivable  that  the  restoration  of  the 
Old  Testament  sacrificial  Cultus  which  some  look  for,  should 
take  place,  when  we  properly  weigh  the  words  of  Hebrews  x. 
1 4,  "  By  one  ofiering  he  hath  perfected  for  ever  them  that  are 
sanctified,"  and  of  Hebrews  ix.  26,  "now  once  in  the  end  of 
the  world  hath  he  appeared  to  put  away  sin  by  the  one  offer- 
ing, the  sacrifice  of  himself,"  (compare  besides  Hebrews  x.  1 0). 
To  except  the  sin-offering  from  the  number  of  the  other  offer- 
ings is  unallowable  :  for  the  Mosaic  sacrifices  were  constituted 
into  a  system,  into  a  regular  and  organic  whole.  Besides,  the 
sin-oftering  is  expressly  and  repeatedly  mentioned  in  Ezekiel's 
description  of  the  second  temple,  the  passage  on  which  the 
expectation  of  a  restitution  of  the  sacrificial  Cultus  is  especially 
based  (Ezekiel  xlv.)  If  we  depart  from  the  letter  of  the  de- 
scription in  respect  of  the  sin-oftering,  there  remains  no  ground 
for  expecting  that  any  outward  sacrifices  whatever  will  be 
restored.  In  other  respects,  too,  such  an  expectation  may  be 
shown  to  be  untenable.  Why  have  physical  sacrifices  ceased 
of  themselves  in  the  Christian  Church  ?  Plainly  because  the 
inward  life  of  the  Church  of  Christ  has  become  so  much  deeper 
that  material  sacrifices,  as  mere  means  of  representing  spiritual 


THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.       467 

processes,  are  too  coarse,  palpable,  and  clumsy.  "  Bullocks 
with  horns  and  hoofs,"  (Psalm  Ixix.  31),  would  wear  too  strange 
a  look  in  a  Christian  sanctuary.  In  the  Catholic  Church  a 
material  sacrifice  is  still  retained  ;  but  how  refined  and  deli- 
cate when  compared  with  the  sacrifices  of  the  Old  Testament ! 
The  same  cause  which  led  to  the  abolition  of  the  Mosaic 
sacrifices,  forbids  their  reintroduction.  If  they  are  permissible 
at  all,  why  should  they  not  be  at  or.ce  restored?  We  are 
now  instructed  to  "  present  our  bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy, 
acceptable  unto  God,"  (Romans  xii.  1) ;  to  "  ofier  spiritual 
sacrifices,  acceptable  to  God  through  Jesus  Christ,"  (1  Peter  ii. 
5) ;  "to  offer  by  Him,  the  sacrifice  of  praise  to  God  continu- 
ally, that  is  the  fruit  of  the  lips  which  confess  His  name," 
(Heb.  xiii.  1 5).  Such  are  the  true  burnt-offerings  and  thank- 
offferings  binding  on  the  Christian  Church  in  all  ages  :  and 
consequently,  even  the  bare  idea  of  a  restoration  of  that 
material  Cultus  wliich  suited  the  beginnings  of  the  kingdom 
of  God  must  be  treated  as  an  anachronism.  In  one  aspect, 
the  sacrifices  of  the  Old  Testament  were  but  a  "  shadow  of 
things  to  come,"  (Col.  ii.  17  ;  Hebrews  x.  1),  "weak  and  beg- 
garly elements,"  (Gal.  iv.  8,  9),  which  have  found  in  Christ 
their  realization,  and  have  consequently  come  to  an  end :  in 
another  aspect,  they  were  a  form  which  is  no  longer  suitable, 
a  symbolical  means  of  representation,  which  has  lost  its  power 
over  the  soul,  and  which  would  now  serve  rather  to  vex,  than 
edify. 

These  are  the  reasons  drawn  from  the  Holy  Scriptures  of 
the  New  Testament,  which  forbid  us  taking  up  with  the  notion 
of  a  future  glorious  kingdom  of  Israel.  But  its  advocates  con- 
sider that  the  strongest  arguments  in  its  favour  are  to  be  found 
in  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament.  Professor  Auberlen  says, 
"  the  doctrine  of  the  glorious  re-establishment  of  Israel  in 
Canaan,  after  severe  chastisements  and  deep  humiliations,  is 
so  essential  and  fundamental  a  thought  of  all  the  prophecies, 
that  one  is  puzzled,  not  so  much  to  find  passages  in  its  sup- 
port as  to  make  a  due  selection." 

Dr.  Tholuck,  on  the  contrary,  in  commenting  on  Romans 
xi.  25,  (see  the  edition  of  1856),  remarks,  "How  did  it  hap- 
pen, that  the  Apostle,  who  is  said  to  have  started  with  the 
same  idea,  should  have  been  satisfied  with  adducing  two  pas- 


468  THE  JEWS   AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

sages  which  are  both  questionable,  and  do  not  at  all  belong  to 
the  class  referred  to,  instead  of  drawing  with  a  full  hand  ? 
Why,  instead  of  opening  up  the  Scriptures  which  to  the  Jews 
were  dark  did  he  give  utterance  to  his  mystery  in  the  manner 
which  he  adopts  elsewhere,  when  coming  forward  himself  as  a 
prophet,  and  only  afterwards  quote  the  prophetic  passages  in 
proof?" 

Is  it  an  unnatural  thing  that  in  the  prophecies  the  Church 
should  appear  under  the  name  of  Zion  and  Jerusalem,  which' had 
been  for  so  many  centuries  the  seat  of  the  kingdom  of  God ; 
or  under  the  symbol  of  the  temple  which  had  outwardly  repre- 
sented that  kingdom  in  the  day  of  the  Old  Covenant  ?  How 
deeply  it  lay  in  the  character  of  prophecy  to  employ  symbols, 
we  may  learn  from  passages  such  as  Hosea  xii.  1 1 ,  where,  in 
the  course  of  an  enumeration  of  the  benefits  which  the  Lord 
had  bestowed  on  His  people  since  the  day  that  He  brought 
them  out  of  Egypt,  it  is  said — "  And  I  multiplied  visions,  and 
through  the  prophets  I  speak  in  similitudes  : "  and  Ezekiel 
xvii.  2,  where  the  prophet  is  commanded  to  "put  forth  a 
riddle."  If  we  have  the  right  to  insist  on  the  letter,  in  every 
place  where  Zion  and  Jerusalem  are  mentioned,  what  shall  we 
say  when  we  find  that  the  prophets  speak  of  the  misery  which 
should  be  experienced  by  the  people  of  God  before  tlieir  salva- 
tion, under  the  symbol  of  a  desert  (Hosea  ii.  16,  17;  Jeremiah 
xxxi.  2)  ;  and  of  the  removal  of  the  obstacles  to  redemption, 
as  a  second  leading  through  the  Red  Sea  (Isaiah  xi.  15  ; 
Zechariah  x.  11)?  If  we  insist  that  the  re -establishment  of 
Israel  and  their  leading  back  to  Canaan  spoken  of  by  Isaiah  (see 
chapter  xi.  1  2),  must  be  understood  in  a  physical  sense,  then 
must  we  keep  to  the  letter  also  in  verse  1 4,  "  And  they  fly 
upon  the  shoulders  of  the  Philistines  towards  the  west ;  they 
plunder  together  the  sons  of  the  east ;  they  lay  their  hand 
upon  Edom  and  Moab  ;  the  children  of  Ammon  obe}^  them." 
But  then  we  contradict  verse  4  :  for  the  subjects  of  such  a 
king  as  is  there  described,  are  not  directed  to  make  war  after 
the  manner  of  David.  We  contradict  further  the  prophetical 
anticipation  cherished  by  Isaiah  with  special  distinctness,  that 
before  the  appearance  of  Christ,  the  neighbouring  nations 
alluded  to,  \vould  be  ground  to  pieces  by  the  great  powers 
which  should  arise,  and  would  lose  all  their  previous  import- 


THE  JEWS   AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHUUCH.  469 

ance.  Is  God  to  restore  the  Philistines,  tiie  Edomites,  and 
other  such  nations  before  the  end  of  the  days,  in  order  that 
the  converted  Jews  may  wage  a  successful  war  with  them, 
employing  not  the  sword  of  the  spirit,  but  of  the  flesh? 
Meyers  would,  no  doubt,  unhesitatingly  answer  in  the  affirma- 
tive. For  does  he  not  say  (page  12G),  that  "although  the 
twelve  tribes  are  now  mixed  up,  each  will  stand  at  that  day 
distinct  before  the  Lord."  Others,  however,  will  find  a  diffi- 
culty in  going  so  fsir  astray. — The  hnpossibilities  attendant  on 
such  a  hteral  interpretation  of  Ezekiel's  description  of  the  new 
temple,  must  be  plain  to  every  one.  In  order  to  carry  out 
this  \dew,  we  must  follow  the  example  of  the  rationahstic  inter- 
preters, and  change  the  "reeds"  expressly  mentioned  by 
Ezekiel  into  eUs. — Besides,  are  there  not  passages  in  the  pro- 
phecies where  Zion  is  unquestionably  spoken  of  in  a  figurative 
sense  ?  For  example,  Zechariah  ii.  7,  "  O  ^ion,  that  dwelk-st 
with  the  daughter  of  Babylon,  deliver  thyself,"  where  those 
members  of  the  covenanted  nation  are  addressed,  who  dwell 
far  away  from  the  physical  Zion,  in  the  land  of  the  heathen  : 
and  Isaiah  xl.  9  ;  xlix.  1 4,  where  we  read,  "  Zion,  saith  the 
Lord,  hath  forsaken  me,"  whilst  at  the  time  to  which  the  pro- 
phet's words  refer,  the  physical  Zion  lay  in  ruins. 

On  the  hteral  view  of  the  passages  which  allude  to  the  futiu-e 
glory  of  Zion  and  Jerusalem,  w^e  fall  into  extravagances  Avhich 
a  sound  exegetical  tact  feels  to  be  foreign  to  the  spirit  of  the 
holy  Scriptures.  As,  for  example,  in  Isaiah  ii.,  where,  literally 
interpreted,  :Mount  Zion  is  to  be  estabhshed  on  the  top  of  the 
highest  mountains  of  the  earth  ;  and  Zechariah  xiv.  1 0,  ac- 
cording to  which  all  the  mountains  of  Judea,  with  the  single 
exception  of  Jerusalem,  are  to  be  levelled  to  plains. 

Such  a  mode  of  interpretation  involves  us  in  contradictions. 
For  example,  according  to  the  literal  view  of  Isaiah  Ixvi.  23, 
in  the  age  of  Messiah,  "  All  flesh  will  come  to  Jerusalem  to 
worship  before  the  Lord,  from  month  to  month,  and  from  Sab- 
bath to  Sabbath  ;"  which  is  impossible,  notwithstanding  all 
our  railways  and  steam-boats  :  and  this  is  at  variance  with 
chap.  xix.  1  9  ;  Zephaniah  ii.  1 1  ;  Malachi  i.  1 1  ;  "  in  every  x>lace 
(1  Timothy  ii.  8)  is  incense  offered  to  my  name,  and  a  pure 
offering." 

By  the  literal  view  we  are  driven,  farther,  to  the  dangerous 


470  THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

result  of  transferring  the  fulfilment  of  most  of  the  prophecies 
entirely  into  the  future  :  and  an  interpretation  of  the  prophe- 
cies, which  ignores  the  past  eighteen  hundred  years  of  the  Church's 
history,  cannot  possibly  be  the  right  one.  The  natural  course 
for  prophecy  is  to  take  first  the  more  immediate  future  into 
view.  This  law  is  universally  observed  in  the  prophecies  which 
relate  to  the  times  of  the  Old  Covenant.  In  Isaiah,  for 
example,  Babylon  forms  only  the  backgTound  ;  Assyria,  the 
gTeat  power  of  the  present  and  the  immediate  future,  occupies 
the  foreground.  History  has  decided  against  the  literal  view. 
The  separation  of  the  Church  from  the  physical  Jerusalem  and 
Zion  has  been  accomplished  ;  and  prophecy  therefore  cannot 
mean  what  it  is  said  to  mean. 

Most  of  the  prophecies  which  are  adduced  as  favourable  to 
the  notion  of  a  future  glorious  kingdom  of  Israel,  belong  to  the 
pre-exile  period :  and  they  have  the  less  force  in  this  connec- 
tion, having  been  already  outwardly  fulfilled  in  the  return  of 
the  Jews  from  exile.  Not  that  they  have  ceased  to  be  of 
force  in  consequence  of  this  fulfilment ;  but  that  in  the  age  of 
New  Covenant  they  will  be  fulfilled  in  another  form.  "  Not 
the  form,  but  the  substance  of  the  divine  inheritance,  did  the 
prophets  regard.  Under  the  New  Covenant,  now  that  the 
whole  earth  is  become  a  Canaan,  the  form  is  different ;  the  sub- 
stance, the  reality,  remains.  To  cling  now  to  the  form  is  as 
absurd  as  it  would  be  for  a  man,  who  had  left  all  for  Christ's 
sake,  to  demand  a  literal  fulfilment  of  His  promise,  that  he 
should  'receive  a  hundredfold,  houses,  brethren,  sisters,  mothers, 
children,  and  lands'  (jVIark  x.  30).  The  words  of  God,  which 
are  spirit  and  life,  must  be  apprehended  with  spirit  and  life." 

Tlie  passages  wliich  speak  of  a  return  of  Israel  to  Zion  in 
the  age  of  Messiah,  cannot  be  literally  interpreted,  if  for  no 
other  reason,  because  they  represent  Zion  as  the  absolute  seat 
of  the  kingdom  of  God.  Now,  under  the  Old  Covenant,  it 
had  this  central  importance  only,  because  the  sanctuary  was 
located  there ;  which,  even  Jeremiah  prophesied,  would  lose 
its  dignity  as  soon  as  Christ  appeared  (chap.  iii.  16).  When 
Christ  came,  another  centre  was  given  to  the  kingdom  of  God, 
— a  centre  to  which  the  Temple  is  related,  as  the  shadow  to 
the  substance.  The  same  thing  is  true  of  passages  which  pro- 
phesy that  the  converted  heathen  will  come  to  Zion,  to  inter- 


THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.  471 

pret  which  literally  involves  us  in  the  inconsistency  of  main- 
taining, contrary  to  all  appearances,  that  their  fulfilment  be- 
longs altogether  to  the  future.  Isaiah  (in  chap.  ii.  and  Ixvi.), 
Micah,  and  Zechariah,  all  represent  Zion,  unconditionally,  as 
the  seat  of  the  salvation  of  the  heathen  world,  so  that  wlioso 
fails  to  come  to  Zion  cannot  share  in  the  blessings  of  grace, 
and  is  subject  to  the  curse  (Zechariah  xiv.  17-19).  According 
to  them,  from  Zion  proceeds  the  law,  and  the  word  of  the  Lord 
from  Jerusalem,  and  whoso  fetcheth  it  not  thence  is  shut  out 
from  its  benefits  :  Zion  is  the  only  seat  of  worship  on  the 
whole  earth,  and,  consequently,  the  only  place  where  men  can 
become  partakers  of  God.  These  consequences  it  is  surely 
incumbent  on  us  to  face,  before  adopting  the  literal  view.  The 
question  is  not  whether  Jerusalem  is  one  day  to  be  possessed 
by  the  converted  Jews,  and  to  gain  an  importance  in  relation 
to  the  entire  Church,  similar  to  that  which  once  attached  to 
Geneva  and  Wittenberg — to  the  one  in  relation  to  the  Re- 
formed, to  the  other  in  relation  to  the  Lutheran  Church.  If 
the  passages  which  treat  of  the  future  glorification  of  Zion  are 
to  be  at  all  interpreted  literally,  they  imply  far  more  than  that. 
It  becomes  a  question,  then,  whether  John  iv.  21  is  to  lose  its 
meaning,  and  the  Church  to  give  up  its  oecumenical  character. 
A  preference  for  literal  interpretations  leads  at  last  to  a  revival, 
nay,  more,  to  an  outbidding  of  those  Judaising  errors  which 
the  Church  has  long  ago  overcome  and  cast  out. 

The  history  of  the  interpretation  of  Scripture  does  not  help 
to  prejudice  us  in  favour  of  this  view.  It  may  lay  claim 
to  the  excellence  of  believing  more  ;  but  still  we  must  not 
forget  that  it  is  essentially  a  Jewish  believing,  to  which  the 
Christian  Church  has  been  opposed  from  its  very  commence- 
ment, and  that  it  led  to  the  crucifixion  of  the  Saviour.  Nor 
is  the  name  of  J.  D.  Michaelis,  who  defended  this  mode  of  in- 
terpretation against  the  theology  of  the  Church,  a  recommen- 
dation :  still  less  the  example  of  the  most  noted  rationalistic 
commentators. 

Having  made  these  general  preliminaiy  observations,  we 
will  now  examine  separately  those  passages  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment which  ai-e  chiefly  adduced  as  favouring  the  expectation 
of  a  future  glorious  khigdom  of  Israel 


472        THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

"  Micah,"  says  Dr  v.  Hoffman  *  "  who  prophesies  the  de- 
struction of  the  Temple,  and  the  leading  away  of  his  people  to 
Babylon,  sees,  at  the  end,  Mount  Zion  exalted  above  all  the  other 
seats  of  power  in  the  world,  and  his  nation  broiight  back  into 
the  land  of  their  fathers"  (chap.  iv.  1,  vii.  14).  But  he  who 
should  fail  to  see  that  the  first  of  the  two  passages — "  And 
in  the  last  days  it  cometh  to  pass,  that  the  mountain  of  the 
house  of  the  Lord  shall  be  established  in  the  top  of  the  moun- 
tains, and  exalted  above  the  hills  ;  and  unto  it  flow  the  peoples. 
And  many  nations  come  and  say.  Come  and  let  us  go  up  to 
the  mountain  of  the  Lord,  and  to  the  house  of  the  God  of 
Jacob," — describes  that  streaming  of  the  heathen  into  the 
Church,  which  began  with  the  fii'st  appearance  of  Christ,  must 
fight  against  plain  facts.  We  have  the  fulfilment  distinctly 
before  our  eyes,  and  therefore  we  cannot  take  the  mountain 
of  the  house  of  the  Lord  to  mean  the  material  Zion.  History 
raises  its  voice  against  such  a  course.  But,  independently  of 
the  actual  fulfilment,  the  spiritual  view  is  suggested  by  the 
very  common  use  of  mountains  in  the  Scriptures  as  a  symbol 
of  kingdoms.  Symbolically,  therefore,  the  Temple-mountain 
would  signify  the  kingdom  of  God  in  the  midst  of  Israel.  In 
favour  of  this  spiritual  view  may  be  further  urged,  that  the 
promised  exaltatio7h  must  inevitably  be  understood  figura- 
tively:— the  thought  then  is,  "the  kingdom  of  God  will,  in 
the  future,  be  exalted  above  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world." 
It  would  be  not  a  little  inconsistent  to  take  the  exaltation 
figuratively,  and  to  understand  by  the  mountain  the  natural 
mountain. 

In  the  second  passage,  in  chapter  viii.  1 4,  it  is  said,  "  Feed 
thy  people  witli  thy  rod,  the  flock  of  thine  heritage,  which 
dwell  solitarily  in  the  wood,  in  the  midst  of  Carmel  :  let  them 
feed  in  Gilead  and  in  Bashan,  as  in  the  days  of  old."  The 
impossibility  of  applying  the  promises  of  chapter  vii.  to  the 
converted  Jews  of  the  future,  and  the  necessity  of  directing 
our  attention  to  the  Israel  of  the  Christian  Church,  are  very 
clear  in  verse  1 2.  We  read  there  :  "  A  day  is  it,  when  they 
will  come  to  thee  from  Assyria  and  the  cities  of  Egypt,  and 
from  Egypt  even  unto  the  river,  and  from  sea  to  sea,  and  from 
mountain  to  mountain : "  the  idea  is,  the  future  dominion  of 
*  "  Schriftbeweis,"  S.  75. 


THE  JEWS  AND  TiiE  ClIillSTiAN  CHURCH.  473 

the  people  of  God  over  the  ^vol•ld  ;  and  every  attempt  to  ap- 
propriate that  to  a  single  part,  which  undeniably  belongs  to 
the  whole,  is  fruitless.  It  is  not  enough  that  the  people  of 
God  become  free  from  the  bondage  of  the  world,  as  the  j)ropliet 
had  previously  hinted,  but  it  will  be  the  object  of  the  yearn- 
ing of  the  nations,  even  of  the  mightiest  and  most  hostile,  the 
magnet  drawing  them  to  itself  Of  the  heathen  nations, 
Assyria  and  Egypt  are  first  specially  mentioned,  because  they 
had  been  in  the  past,  and  were  then,  the  chief  representatives 
of  the  enmity  against  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  because  they 
were  the  two  most  powerful  empires  at  the  time  of  the  prophet. 
All  limits  are  then  taken  away  by  the  words,  "  from  sea 
to  sea,  and  from  mountain  to  mountain,"  which  signify  as 
much  as  "  from  every  sea  to  every  sea."  Should  we  deny  that 
these  promises  are  being  fulfilled  in  the  history  of  the  Church 
of  Christ,  and  postpone  them  entirely  to  the  future,  we  could 
no  longer  be  far  removed  from  the  Jewish  fancy,  of  a  Messiah 
who  is  yet  to  come.  Quite  as  clearly  do  verses  15-17  refer 
to  the  splendid  victories  of  the  Church  of  the  New  Testament. 
It  would,  indeed,  be  strange  if  the  results  already  realized  had 
been  left  out  of  sight :  strange,  in  truth,  if  the  "  election,"  with 
the  twelve  apostles  at  its  head,  and  all  those  who  connected 
themselves  with  them,  should  have  been  ignored,  and  only 
those  regarded  who  have  hitherto  remained  hardened.  Were 
such  the  case,  prophecy  would  be  a  source  of  confusion  to  our 
minds.  The  following  is  the  right  view  of  chapter  vii.  14, 
taken  as  it  stands : — The  idea  of  a  sure  and  undisturbed  hap- 
piness, of  protection  against  those  worldly  powers,  from  which 
the  people  of  God  suffered  so  severely  during  the  long  and 
weary  centuries  before  the  coming  of  Christ,  is  clothed  in  forms 
borrowed  from  the  earlier  position  and  circumstances  of  Israel 
The  wood  in  the  midst  of  Carmel  is  referred  to  as  a  protected 
spot :   Gilead  and  Bashan  as  districts  rich  in  pasturage. 

Dr.  v.  Hoffmann  says  further :  "  When  Obadiah  and  Joel 
promise  good  to  their  nation,  they  single  out  Mount  Zion  and 
Jerusalem  as  the  place  which  will  be  a  sure  hiding-place  from 
the  judgments  on  the  nations  of  the  world,  to  those  who  dwell 
there." 

The  futuristic  view  of  Obadiah  17-21,  is  set  aside  by  the 
circumstance,   that   the    Edomites,    the    Philistines,    and    the 


474  THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

Canaanites,  have  long  ago  disappeared  from  the  stage  of  history  : 
there  is  therefore  no  possibility  of  a  literal  fulfilment.  Of  the 
promise  contained  in  verse  1 7,  "  And  upon  Mount  Zion  shall 
be  deliverance,  and  it  is  holy,  and  the  house  of  Jacob  shall 
possess  their  possessions,"  the  fulfilment  must  be  sought  in  the 
power  of  victory,  which  the  Church  has  received  through 
Christ.  In  this  place  also  the  world  and  the  kingdom  of  God 
are  set  in  opposition  to  each  other.  Judah  and  Joseph  appear, 
not  as  a  single  section  of  the  people  of  God,  but  as  the  sole 
people  of  God.  Zion  is  set  forth  as  the  only  seat  of  deliver- 
ance, and  as  the  ruler  of  the  world.  Following  the  literal 
interpretation,  we  must  deny  the  existence  of  one  holy  uni- 
versal Church,  and  consider  the  Jews  to  be  the  rulers  of  the 
wdiole  world. 

In  Joel,  there  is  the  passage  chap.  ii.  32,  to  be  considered, 
"And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  whosoever  shall  call  on  the 
name  of  the  Lord,  shall  be  delivered;  for  on  mount  Zion  and 
in  Jerusalem  shall  be  deliverance,  as  the  Lord  hath  said,  and 
in  the  remnant  whom  the  Lord  shall  call"  With  full  justice 
Chr.  B.  Michaelis  remarks  here,  "  on  mount  Zion,  and  in  the 
Church  of  the  New  Testament."  We  cannot  in  this  case, 
adopt  the  literal  view  of  Zion  and  Jerusalem,  without  endan- 
gering our  belief  in  a  holy  universal  Church.  Jerusalem  is 
represented  as  the  only  seat  of  redemption:  outside  of  it  is  a 
world  hostile  to  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  obnoxious  to  the 
judgments  of  the  Lord.  When  we  consider  the  mode  in  which 
the  prophecy  of  Joel  is  articulated,  and  examine  the  individual 
passage  in  its  connexion  with  the  whole,  we  see  very  clearly 
that  Zion  and  Jerusalem  must  mean  the  Church.  Threats  of 
punishment  against  degenerate  Israel  extend  to  chap.  ii.  17. 
Then  follows  the  proclamation  of  salvation,  as  far  as  chap.  iii. 
2.  God  begins  his  manifestations  of  gTace  by  sending  a 
teacher  of  righteousness.  Rich  blessings,  of  which  the  climax 
is  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit,  follow  in  his  train.  The  re- 
mainder is  occupied  with  a  description  of  the  judgments  with 
which  God  will  visit  the  enemies  of  His  Church.  In  verses 
30  and  81,  the  prophet  tells  us  what  omens  will  precede  the 
great  and  terrible  day  of  the  Lord :  then  in  verse  3  2  he  points 
out  the  means  which  can  alone  thoroughly  ensure  our  stand- 


THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.  475 

ing  at  that  day.     Fiiiall}',  in  chapter  iv.  he  depicts  the  judg- 
ment itself. 

It  is  further  affirmed  that  "  Isaiah  is  confident  that  at  last, 
a  holy  people  will  dwell  in  Jerasalem"  (chap.  iv.  3).  But  that,' 
in  this  passage,  the  Prophet  employed  Zion  and  Jerasalem,  as 
being  in  his  day,  the  centre  of  the  covenant  nation,  to  repre- 
sent the  whole,  is  evident  from  the  reference  made  to  the 
escaped  of  Israel,  at  the  close  of  the  second  verse,  which  is 
here  taken  up  again.  With  the  first  appearance  of  Christ 
began  the  fulfilment:  and  then  the  relation  of  the  true,  spiri- 
tual Israel  to  the  world  underwent  an  essential  and  funda- 
mental change.  Even  in  the  apostolic  age  the  word  "  saints," 
was  applied  to  believers  as  a  kind  of  proper  name.  The  pro- 
mises \vould  be  worth  nothing,  did  not  the  beginning  of  their 
fulfilment  coincide  with  the  founding  of  the  Church  of  Christ, 
and  did  they  not  continue  to  be  fulfilled  through  all  the  cen- 
turies of  its  history. 

Further,  we  are  assured  that  "  Jehovah's  holy  mountain, 
whither  his  scattered  people  will  return  from  all  the  ends  of 
the  earth,  is  that  place  of  peace,  in  which,  under  the  rule  of 
the  second  David,  not  even  wild  beasts  will  any  more  injure 
or  annoy"  (Isaiah  xi.  9,  11).  "They  shall  not  hurt  nor  de- 
stroy in  all  my  holy  moimtain,"  it  is  said  in  Isaiah  xi.  9,  "  for 
the  eaiih  is  full  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord,  as  the  waters 
coyer  the  sea."  The  second  clause  of  the  verse,  connected  as 
it  is  with  the  first  clause  by  "  for,"  is  not  appropriate  unless 
we  imderstand  mount  Zion  spiritually,  and  unless  we  conceive 
of  it  as  the  spiritual  abode  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth. 
That  it  represents  the  Church  is  evident  from  the  relation 
between  verse  9  and  verses  6-8.  According  to  these  verses, 
all  that  is  hostile  and  destructive  in  the  irrational  creation  will 
be  done  away  with.  As  even  the  reference  to  Genesis  i.  sug- 
gests, such  an  alteration  will  aflfect  the  whole  earth.  It  is 
impossible,  therefore,  that  that  higher  change  in  the  rational 
creation,  of  which  the  lower  is  but  the  reflection,  should  be 
limited  to  a  single  spot. 

We  have  thus  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  the  scriptunil 
proofs  of  a  "future  glorious  kingdom  of  Israel"  rest  on  wrong 
inteipretations.  But  there  are  also  other  important  difficul- 
ties in  the  way  of  this  theoiy 


476  THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

Great  stress  has  been  laid  on  the  conversion  of  Israel  as  a 
nation :  and  great  benefits  are  expected  to  accrue  to  the  king- 
dom of  God  from  a  future  development  of  the  nationality  of  con- 
verted Israel.  This  lies  at  the  foundation  of  all  the  rest.  But 
suspicion  of  such  hopes  ought  to  be  awakened  by  the  bare 
fact,  that  the  Christian  Church  has  never,  through  all  these 
centuries,  dreamt  of  collecting  the  converted  Jews  into  sepa- 
rate communities,  or  of  keeping  up  the  wall  of  separation  be- 
tween them  and  the  heathen  Christians.  If  that  theory  were 
correct,  a  sacred  duty  bound  them  to  do  so ;  and  is  it  not  ex- 
tremely improbable,  that  it  should  have  failed,  through  all  these 
ages,  in  such  a  duty;  that  it  should  not  only  have  mistaken, 
but  have  had  no  suspicion  whatever,  of  its  true  course?  But 
what  is  still  more,  we  must  then  have  expected  to  find  in  the 
New  Testament  express  injunctions  to  this  line  of  conduct. 
There  are,  however,  no  such  injunctions  whatever.  On  the 
contrary,  St.  Paul  teaches  so  decidedly  and  emphatically  the 
fuU  abolition  of  all  distinctions  between  Jews  and  Gentiles, 
that,  if  this  theory  were  correct,  his  sayings  would,  to  say  the 
least,  deserve  the  reproach  of  want  of  consideration.  Thus 
would  it  have  happened  through  the  neglect  of  the  Christian 
Church, — a  neglect  for  which  the  Apostle  Paul  is  primarily 
accountable — that  the  first  fruits  of  the  nation  and  its  noblest 
members,  to  wit,  those  who  since  the  days  of  the  Apostles 
have  been  converted  to  Christ,  have  disappeared  amongst  the 
heathen  Christians  without  a  possibility  of  their  being  distin- 
guished, that  they  have  been  cut  off  from  connection  with 
their  nation,  and  have  lost  all  the  glorious  prerogatives  which 
belong  to  it.  Their  long  continuance  in  unbelief  will  be  an 
advantage  to  those  who  came  last:  for  they  will  have  kept 
pure  their  Jewish  blood,  and  will,  in  consequence,  be  capaci- 
tated for  participating  in  the  royal  and  priestly  glories  which 
are  to  be  bestowed  on  Israel.  Is  it  not  much  easier  to  sup- 
pose that  the  decision  of  the  Church  in  its  best  days  was  the 
right  one,  and  that  the  future  of  the  converted  of  Israel  is  to 
be  judged  according  to  their  past?  In  favour  of  this  view 
may  also  be  adduced  the  unquestionable  fact,  that  proselytes 
from  Judaism,  down  even  to  the  present  day,  notwithstanding 
that  this  modern  theory  meets  them  at  so  many  points,  and 
is  so  agreeable  to  their  old  Jewish  man,  manifest  a  decided 


THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHKISTIAN  CHURCH.  477 

disinclination  to  unite  together  as  Jews;  that,  the  more  sin- 
cere their  piety,  the  stronger  is  their  impulse,  to  become  un- 
distinguishable  paits  of  the  Christian  Church,  and  to  seek  in 
it  the  remedy  for  those  disorders  which  afflict  them  in  conse- 
quence of  their  collective  life  having,  for  so  many  long  cen- 
tui-ies,  been  swayed  by  an  ungodly  principle. 

Surely  the  advocates  of  Jewish  Nationality  can  scarcely 
have  formed  a  clear  conception  of  that  which  they  desire.  It 
ivas  the  (jrand  j^rivilrge  of  Israel,  not  to  be  a  nation  in  the 
usual  sense.  From  the  days  of  its  ancestor  Abraham  onwards, 
its  nationahty  was  rooted  in  the  true  religion,  in  the  kingdom 
of  God.  To  the  very  end,  that  the  people  of  God  might  not 
have  a  nationality  in  the  ordinary  sense,  the  kingdom  of  God 
was  not  established  in  the  midst  of  an  already  existing  people; 
Abraham  was  called  as  an  individual,  and  was  then  in- 
creased to  a  nation.  The  great  deeds  of  God,  and  they  alone, 
stamped  on  this  people  its  specific  character.  Hence,  the 
termination  of  its  nationality,  as  a  distinct  and  peculiar  one, 
was  involved  in  the  coming  of  Christ.  Then  was  the  type  of 
Jewish  nationality  stamped  on  all  nations  that  entered  into 
the  Church  of  Christ.  It  thus  attained,  and  is  still,  to  the 
present  day,  attaining,  its  true  glory.  Unbelieving  Jews  fell 
away  from  their  true  nationality,  and  gathered  themselves 
around  a  new  centre,  which  was^  hatred  of  Christ.  This  new 
nationahty  is  destined  utterly  to  vanish  with  their  conversion : 
their  original  nationality  has  become  the  common  property  of  all 
Chiistians.  To  attempt  to  constitute  the  Jews  into  a  dis- 1 
tinct  nation,  would  end  in  the  revival  of  the  impeifect  and  j 
beggarly  forms,  which  in  the  course  of  its  development,  the  ' 
Christian  Church  has  already  rejected. 

Finally,  the  Lord  admonishes  us  to  observe  the  signs  of 
the  times:  and  they  are  anything  but  favourable  to  this 
modern  theory.  It  would  lead  us  to  expect  that  the  principle 
of  Jewish  nationality  would  become  every  day  more  powerful 
and  active,  that  the  people  would  be  forming  itself  more  and 
more  into  a  separate  whole.  On  tlie  contrary,  the  nation  is 
unmistakably  crumbling  to  pieces.  Were  all  social  and  civil 
disabilities  removed,  this  result  would  follow  still  more  rapidlj*. 
Even  as  things  are,  the  process  of  dissolution  is  incessantly 
advancing,  that  only  national  tie,  false  faith,  has  lost  its  power 


478       THE  JEWS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

over  their  minds,  wherever  Jews  have  yielded  to  the  ten- 
dencies of  the  age;  and  that  which  comes  into  vogue  on  the 
marts  of  life,  soon  and  inevitably  penetrates  to  its  remotest 
corners.  In  circumstances  like  the  present,  any  attempt  to 
draw  a  contrast  between  the  conversion  of  the  nation  as  such, 
and  the  conversion  of  individuals,  is  unwarranted  and  vain. 
"We  are  approaching  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  point  when  only 
Jewish  individuals  will  exist.  Every  day  the  Jews  partici- 
pate more  fully  in  the  life  of  the  Christian  nations  amidst 
which  they  have  taken  up  their  abode:  and  if  the  attempt 
were  to  be  made  to  lead  them  back,  converted  or  unconverted, 
to  Palestine,  we  should  have  even  now,  though  the  process  of 
decomposition  is  not  complete,  such  a  strange  mixture  of 
fragments  of  the  most  diverse  nationalities,  as  would  render 
tJbo  formation  of  a  state  impossible. 


INDEXES. 


INDEX  I.     HEBREW  WORDS  EXPLAINED. 


h^^ 

Page 
.       148 

n1^D^< 

.      261 

i^Nin 

.       214 

bv2 

.      261 

'^c'2 

.       138 

■nn 

.       115 

7n 

140 

Dnm 

.54 

cm 

61 

nnNn 

174 

Kir. 

119 

N''L:nn 

.       139 

nar 

136 

nnr 

174 

i^n 

85 

nson 

328 

DDH 

176 

I'DH 

91 

pntj'n 

1 

83,  189 

yj^ 

54 

"inr 

169 

n:;'' 

259 

"inv 

257 

p 

200 

Dya 

161 

rnt^'^ 

126 

nriD 

141 

yno 

234 

"IN^O 

139 

n:Q 

64 

nti'yrD 

63 

mpD 

116 

nx-iD 

154 

jn: 

76 

-inn 

264 

pj 

248 

^d: 

151 

11D 

266 

n^jD 

Paqb 
78 

nh'^ 

.      107 

mm  ^y 

.       115 

oy 

168 

^»y 

.       127 

njy 

.      234 

62,  137 

233 

n^pi:ry 

124 

pD 

97 

HDB 

38 

7,  Note. 

DjriQ 

201 

mup 

151 

mp 

228 

phr^p 

43 

bbp 

228 

n)yc'ii-\ 

58 

nm 

150 

pim 

112 

nn 

117 

mx  nn 

165 

myn 

63 

D^js  y-i 

162 

nvi 

213 

pin::> 

52 

mc 

79 

31::' 

123 

ni^ar^ 

68 

po^-c' 

196 

Dbu'      . 

399 

not:' 

113 

DD*^ 

176 

•nn 

'  61,  75 

y:vn 

79 

ipn 

54, 258 

480 


INDEX   IT. 


INDEX  11.    PASSAGES  OF  SCRIPTURE  EXPLAINED  AND 
ILLUSTRATED. 


Genesis. 


ii.  5,      . 
iii.  17-19, 
V.  2,      . 
vi.  2,     . 
ix.  26,  27, 
xvii.  4,  5, 
xxii.  2, 


xii.  44, 
xix.  5,  6, 
xxiii.  15, 
xxiv.  2, 


i.  2,  . 
i.  14,  15, 
V.  11-14, 
vii.  1,  2, 
vii.  11,  etc., 
x.  17, 
xvii.  11, 
xxvi.  21, 


ix.  24, 
XV.  27-31, 


Exodus. 


Page 

142 

.       51,  54 

155 

427 

433,  Note. 

433 

394 


428 
434 


iv.  24, 
vi.  6, 


XV.  22, 
xxiv.  25, 


Deuteronomy. 


1  Samuel. 


1  Kings. 


iv.  29-31, 


2  Kings. 


ii.  20, 

xxi.  16, 

Nehemiaii 

ii.  2,     . 

Job. 

ii.  9,      . 

. 

ix.  12, 

. 

xi.  8, 

. 

XX vii.  20, 

XXX.  23, 

xxxiii.  23, 

. 

XXXV.  9, 

. 

376 

377 
380 


379 
.370 
376 


135 

400 


408 
361 


162 


194 
196 
183 
55 
118 
187 
124 


Psalms. 


xxiv.  6, 

426 

xxxi.  16, 

218 

XXXV  ii.  8, 

195 

„      14,  15,  . 

180 

„      16, 

145 

„      38, 

165 

xl.,        . 

376 

xlii.  4,  6, 
1. 

213 
376 

Ii.  12, 

405 

Ii.  13, 

305 

Ii.  21, 

393 

Iviii.  9, 

1G3 

Ixix.  31,  32. 

376 

Ixxii., 

2S0,  288 

Ixxiii.  1,  etc.,  . 

214,  42G 

„       10, 

211 

„       16, 

210 

„       17, 

214 

„       20, 

212 

Ixxv.  3, 

90 

Ixxx.  6, 

213 

xciv.  20, 

113 

cxii.  9, 

337 

cxviii.  12, 

163 

cxxv.  2,  3, 

113 

cxxxix.  15, 

239 

cxl.  12, 

230 

cxli.      . 

289 

cxlii.. 

289 

Proverbs. 

ii.  16,  17,           .             .             .           185 

iii.  5, 

83 

V.  1-14, 

. 

185 

v.  18, 

. 

168 

viii., 

41 

xxii.  14, 

186 

Songs. 

ii.  6,                  ...           100 

v.  2,                    .             .       '      .           450 

Isaiah. 

ii.  1,                  ...           469 

iv.  3, 

475 

ix.  6, 

359 

ix.  10, 

359 

xi.  1, 

.  358,359 

xi.  9-11, 

475 

xi.  12, 

450 

XXV.  8, 

359 

xxxi.  9, 

395 

xxxiii.  14, 

. 

395 

INDEX  II. 

481 

Page 

> 

Page 

xxxir.  56, 

359 

Mark. 

„       16, 

348 

ix.  49, 

396 

xxxix.  6,  7, 

363 

x.  23, 

146 

xlii.  2, 

221 

xvi.  5, 

214 

Ixiv.  20,  21, 

293 

■ 

Ixvi.  18-20, 

450 

Luke. 

Ixvi.  20, 

406 

iv.  22, 

290' 

Ixvi.  23, 

469 

V.  32, 
X.  31, 

174 
IIT 

Lamentatioss. 

xi.  49, 

■'.            '. 

42 

iii.  39, 

EZEKIEL. 

161 

xii.  29, 
XV.  7, 
xxi.  24, 

. 

154 
175 
456 

xiv.  14-20, 

318 

xxi.  29, 

'. 

444 

xvi.  11, 

.     , 

297 

xxiii.  34, 

... 

136 

xlvii.  22,  23, 

Daniel.    * 

429 

xxiii.  48, 

John. 

.    452 

xi.  35, 

HOSEA. 

115 

iii,  8, 
iv,  24, 
vii.  30, 

239 

462 

90 

XIT.  2, 

Joel. 

372 

xviii.  35, 

Acts. 

441 

ii.  17-32, 

OsADLiH. 

474 

i.  6-8, 
iii,  19-21, 

457 
459 

17,  21, 

MiCAH. 

473 

,  etc. 

i,2Q, 

iv.  11,  12, 

Romans. 

106 
432 

iv.  1, 

472 

viii  21, 

. 

54 

V.  6,  7, 

. 

438 

ix.  6,  7, 

. 

432 

vi.  7,  8, 

376 

xi., 

432 

445-449 

vii.  14,  etc., 

• 

.472 

,  etc. 

xi.  7, 
xi.  26, 

. 

437 
459 

Habakkuk. 

xi.  33, 

. 

182 

i.13, 

113 

xii.  1, 
xiii.  1,  etc 

• 

392,  397 
193 

Zechariah. 

XV.  16, 

. 

406 

xii.  10, 

Malachi. 

451 

V.  7, 

1    COBINTHIANS. 

390 

ui.  14, 

.  167 

,210 

X.  1, 

'. 

434 

-- 

^ 

X.  22, 

2  Corinthians. 

155 

Matthew, 

V.  20, 

139 

iii.  7,  etc.. 

430 

vii.  10, 

. 

162 

V.  10, 

112 

V.  20, 

176 

Galatians. 

vi.  7,  8, 

137 

iii.  7,  29, 

. 

434 

vi.  24, 

108 

iv.  26, 

. 

46o 

xii.  31,  32, 

442 

vi.  15,  16, 

434 

xix.  28, 

.431 

,  457 

XX.  28, 

.309 

390 

Ephesuns. 

xxi.  43, 

464 

ii.  12, 

434 

xxiii.  23, 

177 

V.  22, 

. 

396 

xxiii.  37, 

42 

xxiii.  38,  39, 

443 

Philippians. 

xxiv.  34, 

453 

ii.  17, 

. 

406 

xxvii.  53, 

458 

2 

iv.  18, 
H 

. 

398 

482 

INDEX  in. 

Page 

Page 

COLOSSIANS. 

James. 

ii.8, 

, 

185 

i.  6, 

. 

400 

2  Thessalonians. 

i.  17, 

81 

i,  5, 

114 

i.  19, 

.  135,  165 

1  Timothy. 

ii.  7, 
iii.  6, 

• 

144 
252 

vi.  9, 

153 

iii.  15, 

184 

vi.  10, 

.            . 

148 

vi.  20, 

185 

1  Peter. 

2  Timothy. 

ii.  9, 

463 

iii.  16, 

.  300,  439 

iii.  6, 

1 

435 

yi.6, 

Hebkews. 

406 

iv.  12, 

141 

iv.  12, 

'263 

1  John. 

ix.  7, 

387 

ii.  1-6, 

, 

77 

ix.  22, 

. 

371 

V.  16, 

. 

442 

X.  4, 

, 

379 

X.  26-28, 

, 

139 

Hevblations. 

xi.  37, 

. 

362 

ii.  20, 

. 

186 

xii.  29, 

•    . 

395 

vii.  4, 

. 

435 

xiii.  15, 

* 

372 

xxL  12, 

• 

436 

INDEX  III.    PRINCIPAL  SI 

JBJECTS 

TREATED  OF, 

OR 

INCIDENTALLY  DISCUSSED. 


Abel,  and  Cain,  their  sacrifices,  373, 
374. 

Abraham,  signification  of  the  name, 
433. 

Abraham,  the  command  addressed  to, 
to  offer  up  his  son,  375,  &c.,  394. 

Accidents,  wise  men  and  fools  liable 
to,  82  ;  in  the  hands  of  God,  209. 

Admonitory  and  punitive  aspect  of 
Ecclesiastes,  27,  &c. 

Afflictions,  the  ordainment  of  divine 
righteousness,  21 ;  and  of  divine 
love,  22.;  a  means  of  refinement,  23. 

Age,  a  joyless  old,  described,  244,  &c. 

Ahaz,  353,  &c. 

All  things  to  all,  209. 

Allegorical  view,  the,  of  the  Song  of 
Solomon,  maintained,  294,  &c. 

Almond  tree,  the  blossoming  of  the, 
248. 

Angel,  the,  139. 

Angel,  the  mediating,  332. 

Anger,  166. 

Assyria,  354,  356. 

Author,  the,  of  Ecclesiastes,  his  tone 
of  reserve  in  relation  to  the  circum- 
stances of  his  time,  1,  &c. ;  Solomon 
not  the,  7,  &c. ;  his  peculiar  use  of 
the  name  of  God,  25,  &c. ;  his  avoid- 
ance of  the  name  Jehovah,  do. 

Author  of  the  Song  of  Songs,  275,  &c. 

Avarice,  128,  153. 


Ban,  the,  of  Jehovah,  371. 

Battle,  the,  not  to  heroes  (the  strong), 

217. 
Bear,  a  time  to,  94. 
Beasts,  men  knowing  themselves  to  be, 

115;  man's  pre-eminence  over,  118; 

the  spirit  of  going  downwards,  119. 
Beautiful,  every  thing  in  its  season,. 

104,  105,  100. 
Beloved,  the,  who,  274. 
Blood,  the  sprinkling  of,  384. 
Blood-shedding,  in  sacrifices,  its  origin, 

370. 
Body,  the,  to  be  offered  a  holy  sacrifice, 

397. 
Bones,  grov/ing  in  the  womb,  239. 
Books,  no  end  of  making  many,  265. 
Born,  better  not  to  have  been,  how  to 

be  undei'stood,  125. 
Bowl,  the  golden,  251. 
Bread,  of  tears,  213. 
Bread,  sent  upon  the  waters,  235,  &c. 
Bride,  the,  of  the  Song  of  Songs,  274. 
Build,  a  time  to,  97. 
Burial  of  the  wicked,  199. 
Burnt-Ofterings,  377  ;  392,  &c. ;  expia- 
tory, 393 ;  the  history  of,  394. 

Cain    and  Abel,  their  offerings,  373, 

374. 
Chaldeans,  the,  in  the  time  of  Isaiah, 

360. 


INDEX  III. 


483 


Chaldee  paraphrast,  quoted  as  to  the 
authorship  of  Ecclesiastes,  7. 

Chance,  men  designated,  116;  and 
time,  218. 

Clicerfulness,  242. 

Chihl,  woe  to  the  land,  whose  king  is  a, 
232. 

Church,  the  Christian,  a  continuation 
of  Israel,  425 ;  its  oneness,  426 ;  to 
consist  not  only  of  the  natural  de- 
scendents  of  tiie  patriarclis,  hut  of 
spiritual  descendents,  428,  &c.,  436, 
&c. ;  to  it  therefore  refer  the  pro- 
mises often  superficially  referred  to 
the  Jews,  438,  &c. 

Circumstances,  the,  of  the  time  of  the 
composition  of  the  hook  of  Ecclesi- 
astes, 1-7. 

Cistern,  the  wheel  broken  at  the,  252, 
&c. 

Clouds  and  rain,  the  symbolic  import 
of,  337  ;  regarding  the,  238,  245. 

Conclusion,  the,  of  the  whole  discourse, 
2(J6. 

Confidence  in  God,  the  truest  happi- 
ness, 65. 

Consolation,  the  object  of  the  author 
of  Ecclesiastes,  16,  &c. 

Consolation,  the  stoical  theory  of,  310; 
the  worldly,  312  ;  the  compensatory, 
312;  the  resignation  theory  of,  314, 
&c. ;  the  true,  315,  &c. 

Contentment,  154. 

Contents  of  Ecclesiastes,  16,  &c. 

Corban,  369. 

Cord,  the  silvei",  251. 

Counsels,  the  divine,  11. 

Countenance,  sadness  of  the,  162. 

Covenant,  of  salt,  a,  408. 

Creationism,  256. 

Creator,  the,  to  he  remembered  in 
youth,  243. 

Culture,  its  connection  with  true  reli- 
gion, 231. 

Cultus,  the,  of  the  Old  Testament,  its  j 
restoration  inconceivable,  466,  &c.      j 

Curse,  lest  thy  servant,  thee,  178. 

Dance,  a  time  to,  99. 

Darkness,  its  symbolical  import,  245. 

Darkness,  eating  in,  148. 

Daughter,  use  of  tlie  term  in  the  Old 
Testament,  248. 

Daughters  of  Jerusalem,  274. 

Days,  the  evil,  244. 

Dead,  the  advantage  of  the  living  over 
the,  212. 

Dead  flies,  222. 

Death,  the  day  of,  better  than  of  birth, 
1.59  ;  the  lot  of  mortals,  211. 

Decrees  of  God,  the,  decide  every- 
thing, 111. 


I  Desire,  never  satisfied,  55 ;  faileth, 
I      250  ;  much,  a  weariness,  265. 

Destinies  of  men,  tlie,  decided  in 
licaven.  217. 

JJiasjMoa,  the,  435. 

Die,  a  time  to,  94,  95. 

Discontent,  242,  243. 

Dog,  a  living,  better  than  a  dead  lion, 
212. 

Doors  in  tlie  street,  247. 

Dust,  returns  to  the  dust,  253. 

Duty,  the  whole,  of  man,  267. 

Earthly  happiness,  vain,  126. 
Eating  in  darkness,  148. 

Ecclesiastes,  the  book  of,  time  of  its 
composition,  1,  &c. ;  9,  &c. ;  Solo- 
mon not  the  author  of,  7-9  ;  resem- 
blance between  it  and  Malachi,  10, 
&c. ;  plan  of,  15,  &c. ;  consolatory 
object  of,  16,  &e.;  the  Inuuan  side 
of,  24  ;  admonitory  object  of,  27,  &c.; 
objections  raised  against  it  by  the 
Jews,  33;  objections  raised  against 
it  by  Christians,  34,  &c. ;  links  of 
connection  between  it  and  the  New 
Testament,  35 ;  false  views  of,  re- 
futed, 35,  &c. 

Elihu,  his  first  discourse  addressed  to 
Job,  329,  &c. ;  his  second,  332,  &c. ; 
his  third,  333,  &c. ;  his  fourth,  334, 
&c. 

Embrace,  a  time  to,  100. 

End  of  a  thing,  the,  better  than  the  be- 
ginning, in  what  sense  to  be  under- 
stood, 165. 

Envy,  excited  by  the  good  fortune  of 
others,  126,  127. 

Esther,  the  picture  the  book  of,  fur 
nishes  of  the  Persian  Empire,  15. 

Eternity,  set  in  the  heart,  10.5,  106. 

Etham,  the  lovely  gardens  of,  278. 

Evil  days,  244. 

Eye  and  Ear  unsatisfied,  figurative  im- 
port of  the  phrase,  56. 

Eyes,  dull,  or  enlightened,  192  ;  walk- 
ing in  the  sight  of,  242. 

Exile,  threats  of,  found  in  the  books  of 
Moses,  290,  &c. 

Face,  the,  made  to  shine,  191  ;  streng- 
thened, 192. 

Feasts,  sacrificial,  403,  &c. ;  of  love, 
404. 

Field,  the  tilled,  142. 

Fire,  its  symbolic  imports,  395. 

Flesh,  the,  the  mouth  causing  to  sin, 
138. 

Flies,  dead,  222. 

Frederick,  the  Great,  quoted  on  stoical 
resignation  under  pain  and  suffering, 
310,  311. 


484 


INDEX  III. 


Friends,  Job's  three,  322 ;  their  \m- 
favoiirable  view  of  Job,  323 ;  their 
view  of  sin  and  suffering,  324  ;  their 
main  en-or,  324 ;  their  want  of  piti- 
ful love,  325 ;  element  of  truth  in 
their  discourses,  326 ;  Job's  dis- 
conrses  against  them,  326 ;  are  si- 
lenced by  Job,  327  ;  God's  anger 
against  them,  337. 

Folly,  the  effects  of  a  little,  223. 

Folly  and  wisdom,  81. 

Fool,  the,  and  the  wise  man  equally 
liable  to  death,  83,  84 ;  full  of  words, 
231. 

Fools,  the  sacrifice  of,  136 ;  the  laugh- 
ter of,  163. 

Former  days,  the,  better  than  these, 
166,  167." 

Frankincense,  385,  408. 

Future,  the,  man  not  the  master  of, 
121. 

Gardens  of  Solomon,  the,  278. 

Garments,  wliite,  214. 

Gentiles,  the  times  of  the,  fulfilled,  456. 

Goads,  the  words  of  the  wise  are  as, 
260. 

God,  the  peculiar  use  of  the  names  of, 
in  Ecclesiastes,  25 ;  the  thought  of 
his  being  in  heaven  regulative  of 
prayer,  136;  His  appearance  to  Job 
out  of  the  storm,  336 ;  His  anger  with 
Job's  friends,  337. 

God,  the  oath  of,  193. 

Gods,  the  heathen,  375. 

Golden  bowl  the,  251,  &c. 

Good,  doing,'  108. 

Grinders,  the,  are  few,  246. 

Habakkuh,  meaning  of  the  name, 
100. 

Hand,  the  right,  223. 

Haphazard,  116. 

Happiness,  dependent  on  God,  109 ; 
the  emptiness  of  earthly,  126. 

Hate,  a  time  to,  102. 

Hatred,  and  love,  not  known  by  the 
occurrences  of  life,  208. 

Heart,  walking  in  the  ways  of  the,  242. 

Heathen  Sacrifices,  contrasted  with 
Scripture  sacrifices,  373-377. 

Heaving  the  thank-offerings,  the  signi- 
ficance of  the  usage,  402,  403. 

Hezekiah,  355,  366. 

Holy  Ghost,  the  sin  against  the,  442. 

Holy  Place,  the,  200,  458. 

Honey,  its  symbolic  import,  407. 

Horns  of  the  Altar,  384. 

House,  the  body  a,  246. 

House,  the  eternal,  250. 

House  of  God,  going  to  the,  134. 

House  of  mourning,  160. 


Hundred  and  forty  and  four  thousand, 
the,  of  the  book  of  llevelation,  who 
they  are,  435. 

Immortality  of  Renown,  the,  58. 

Immortality  of  the  soul,  the,  as  set 
forth  in  Ecclesiastes,  27  :  the  anthro- 
pological basis  of,  121. 

Irritability,  under  afflictions,  223. 

Isaiah,  347  ;  signification  of  his  name, 
348;  his  mission,  349;  his  sons,  350; 
his  wife,  350,  351 ;  his  garb,  351 ;  the 
time  he  entered  on  his  calling,  351 ; 
ridiculed,  352  ;  his  predictions,  351- 
357;  peculiar  Messianic  elements  in 
his  writings,  359  ;  termination  of  his 
work,  360-362;  ti-adition  i-especting 
his  death.  362 ;  arrangement  of  his 
collected  writings,  362,  &c.  ;  sub- 
stance of  the  second  part  of  his  pro- 
phecies, 363,  &c. 

Israel,  the  Christian  Church,  a  continu- 
ation of,  346,  &c.;  436,  &c. 

Jehovah,  the  avoidance  of  the  name, 
by  the  author  of  Ecclesiastes,  25. 

Jeremiah,  the  significance  of  the  name, 
348. 

Jerusalem,  and  Zion,  the  Church  spoken 
of  in  the  Old  Testament  under  the 
names  of,  464,  468. 

Jews,  the,  their  hardness  of  heart  tem- 
porary, 413,  &c. ;  Luther's  views  re- 
specting, 414-423;  the  hope  of  their  sal- 
vation shared  by  the  Church,  424; 
strange  proceedings  of  a  Lutheran  Sy-  W 
nod  in  America  respecting,  424,  425 ;  \ 
teachings  of  Scripture  respecting,  425, 
&c. ;  ground  of  hope  respecting,  in 
the  New  Testament,  441,  &c. ;  their 
preservation  as  a  nation,  453;  un- 
scriptural  teachings  respecting,  454; 
their  national  restoration,  is  it  taught 
in  the  Scriptures,  455,  &c. ;  examin- 
ation of  alleged  proofs,  456,  &c.; 
New  Testament  evidence  against 
their  national  restoration,  462,  «S;c.; 
extravagance  of  the  literal  view,  469; 
such  a  view  dangerous,  469,  &c. ; 
most  of  the  prophecies  adduced  in 
favour  of  their  literal  restoration  be- 
long to  the  pre-exile  period,  470; 
passages  which  speak  of  their  return 
to  Zion,  not  literal,  470,  &c. ;  the 
stress  which  some  lay  on  their  con- 
version, as  a  nation,  considered,  476; 
the  nationality  of — its  nature,  477; 
signs  of  the  times  in  relation  to,  477, 
478. 

Job,  meaning  of  the  name,  309;  theme 
of  the  book  of,  309,  &c.;  description 
of  his  life  and  character,  318,  &c. ; 


INDEX  III. 


485 


Satan's  desire  to  destroy  him,  319  ; 
loss  of  everythinfT,  321;  his  wife's 
temptation,  321;  his  three  friends, 
322  ;  the  sudden  change  which  came 
over  his  mind,  its  cause,  322,  323 ; 
the  charge  he  hrought  against  God, 
323;  the  viewtaivcn  by  his  friends  of 
sin  and  sutfcring,  32-t;  the  funda- 
mental error  of  their  reasoning,  324; 
their  want  of  pitiful  love,  325;  the 
elements  of  truth  in  their  speeches, 
325,  &c.;  his  discourses  against  them, 
326  ;  silences  them,  327  ;  his  closing 
discourse,  327 ;  Elihu's  reply  to,  329, 
&c.,  334  ;  he  is  humbled,  3*35  ;  God 
speaks  to  him,  336  ;  his  repentance, 
337. 

Job,  the  use  of  the  names  of  God  in 
the  book  of,  analogous  to  the  usage 
of  Ecclesiastes,  25,  26. 

Job,  his  wife,  213. 

Joy,  true,  162. 

Judgment,  the,  268 ;  the  final,  hased  on 
the  continuous,  313,  &c. 

Judgment,  wickedness  in  the  place  of, 
113. 

Judgments,  Messianic,  on  Israel,  293. 

Keep,  a  time  to,  100. 

Kill,  a  time  to,  96,  &c. 

King,  the,  for  whom  Koheleth  claims 

obedience,   193 ;    going   out   hastily 

from  the  presence  of,  194. 
King,  the  vanity  of  the  honours  of  a, 

131,  132. 
King,  woe  to  the  land  whose,  is  a  child, 

232. 
Kingdom  of  heaven,  the,  to  be  entered 

through  much  tribulation,  315. 
^Koheleth,   import   of  the  title,  39,  40 ; 

in  what  sense  applied  to  Solomon, 

40,  &c.,  44 ;  surpassed  all  that  were 

before  him  in  Jerusalem,  66 ;  the  title 

did  not  belong  to  Solomon  as  such, 

258. 

Laugh,  a  time  to,  99. 
Laughter,  of  fools,  163. 
Laughter,  to  make  bread,  233. 
Leaven,    its    symbolical    significance, 

407. 
Light,  its  symbolical  import,  245. 
Lilies,  their  symbolical  import,  274. 
Lips,  the,  23l'. 
Lips,  pure,  451. 
Literature   of  the    world,    Koheleth's 

warning  against  the  study  of  the,  265. 
Living,  the,  their  advantage  over  the 

dead,  212. 
Living  Sacrifices,  397. 
Locust,  the,  a  burden,  249,  &c. 
Lose,  a  time  to,  100. 


Lots,  the,  of  the  righteous  and  tiic  wic- 
ked often  intermixed,  203. 

Love,  a  time  to,  102. 

Love,  and  hatred,  not  known  from  the 
events  of  life,  208. 

Love-feasts,  404. 

Lust,  of  the  fiesh  and  of  the  eye,  77. 

Mahershalalhashbaz,  350. 

]Malachi,  the  resemblance  between  the 
book  of  and  Ecclesiastes,  10,  &c. 

Man,  his  superiority  over  beasts,  US; 
his  spirit  goeth  upward,  119.  ..<:c.  ; 
one  among  a  thousand,  187  ;  made 
upright,  189,  &c. 

Manasseh,  360,  &c. 

Mass,  the  sacrifice  of  the,  .391. 

Meat-oftering,  384,  &c..  404-406  ;  must 
be  without  leaven,  407. 

Mediator-angel,  the,  332. 

Messiah,  the,  entitled  Solomon.  280, 
286,  &c,;  the  lively  expectation  of, 
in  the  days  of  Solomon,  286,  &c, , 
tribulation  to  precede  the  appear- 
ance of,  288,  &c. 

Mirth,  the  pursuit  of,  70,  73, 

Mirth,  proper,  204. 

Mock,  to  make  a,  of  God,  no  light 
thing,  139,  140, 

Money,  a  defence,  169;  answereth  all 
things,  234, 

Moroseness  inseparable  from  false  right- 
eousness, 30. 

Mourning,  the  house  of,  160. 

Nabi,  344. 

Nails  driven  in,  the  authors  of  the 
Canon  like,  260. 

Names  of  God,  the  peculiar  use  of  the, 
in  Ecclesiastes,  25 ;  analogous  to  that 
of  Job,  25,  26;  and  of  Nehemiah,  26. 

Nationality,  Jewish,  477. 

Nebijah,  Isaiah's  wife,  350,  351. 

New,  there  is  nothing,  under  the  sun,  57. 

Oath  of  God,  the,  193. 

Obedience  to  authority,  as  inculcated 
by  Koheleth,  192,  &c. 

Oil,  its  symbolical  import,  385.  407. 

Old  Testament,  the,  its  political  ele- 
ment, 343 ;  its  prophetical  clement, 
344. 

One  of  a  thousand,  187. 

Oppression  makes  the  wise  man  mad, 
164. 

Passover,  the,  as  a  sin-offering,  387, 
&c. ;  what  distinguished  it  from  the 
sin-offering,  388  :  its  signification  as 
a  sacrifice,  388,  &c. 

Peace-ort'ering,  399. 

Persecuted,  the,  sought  by  God,  112. 


486 


INDEX  III. 


Persiap  rule,  the  period  of,  the  time  of 
the  composition  of'Ecclesiastes,  6,  9, 
&c. 

Persians,  the,  225,  232. 

Pharisaism,  29,  31. 

Pharisees,  the  righteousness  of  the, 
174,  175. 

Pilgrim  Songs,  the  characteristic  tone 
of  the,  12,  13. 

Pit,  digging  a.  227. 

Pitcher, -the,  hroken  at  the  well,  252. 

Plan  of  the  book  of  Ecclesiastes,  16,  &c. 

Plans,  the,  of  God,  cannot  be  frus- 
trated, 109. 

Plant,  a  time  to,  96. 

Poor,  the,  153. 

Poor  wise  man,  the,  220. 

Prayer,  few  words  in,  136;  the  relation 
between,  and  sacrifices,  371-373. 

Presence  of  the  Lord,  going  out  from 
the,  194. 

Pride  of  Life,  the,  77. 

Promises,  the,  which  are  often  super- 
ficially referred  to  the  Jews,  belong 
to  the  Christian  Church,  438  ;  but 
are  fitted  to  awaken  hopes  concern- 
ing the  Jews,  439,  &c. 

Promises,  threats  often  pass  into,  348. 

Prophecies,  the  beginning  of  the  ca- 
nonical, 346. 

Prophets,  the,  344;  the  body  of  the,  346. 

Prosperity,  the,  promised  to  Israel,  225. 

Proverbs,  the  book  of,  the  connection 
of  the  first  chapter  of,  with  Eccle- 
siastes, 41,  &c.  ;  points  of  contact 
between,  and  the  Song  of  Songs,  281. 

Eace,  the,  not  to  the  swift,  217. 

Regeneration,  the,  458. 

Rehoboam,  81. 

Religion,  the  true,  affords  fine  culture, 

231. 
Remembering  our  Creator,  243,  244. 
Rend,  a  time  to,  101. 
Renown,  the  immortality  of,  101. 
Resignation,  as  a  means  of  consolation 

under  suffering,  314. 
Rich  man,  the,  who?  146,  151,  225. 
Riches,  do  not  satisfy  the  heart,  145. 
Right  hand,  the,  223. 
Righteous,  the  suffering  of  the,  309,  &c. 
Righteous,  the,  and  the  wicked,  their 

lots  often  intermixed,  203. 
Righteous,  the,  and  the  wise,  both  in 

God's  hand,  207. 
Righteous  over  much,  174,  &c. 
Righteousness,  false,   29,  &c. ;    a  just 

man  perishing  in  his,  173;    of  the 

Scribes  and  Pharisees,  174,  175. 
Round  numbers  in  the  book  of  Job,  317. 
Ruler,  the,  225. 
Ruler,  yielding  to  the  spirit  of  a,  224. 


Sacrifices,  soulless,  135,  &c. 

Sacrifices,  tiie  most  general  name  for, 
369  ;  foundation  of  the  custom  of, 
and  necessity  for,  offering,  366-371  ; 
the  Scripture  opposite  of,  371  ;  rela- 
tion between  prayer  and,  371-373; 
relation  between  those  of  heathen- 
dom and  those  of  the  Old  Testament, 
373-377  ;  classification  of,  377,  &c. ; 
two  purposes  served  by,  380. 

Salt,  its  symbolic  import,  407  ;  a  cove- 
nant of,  408.  • 

Satan,  as  he  appears  in  the  book  of 
Job,  319  ;  takes  part  in  the  chastise- 
ment of  the  righteous,  320. 

Sceptre  of  wickedness  (rod  of  the 
wicked)  what?  13. 

Season,  a,  for  everything,  89,  &c. 

Self-righteousness,  29,  &c. 

Sentence  against  an  evil  work,  201. 

Sermons,  a  (tanon  to  judge  them  by, 
263. 

Serpents,  lurking  in  walls,  227. 

Servant,  lest  thy,  curse  thee,  179. 

Servants,  the  heathen  were  to  be,  to 
Israel,  180,  &c. ;  riding  on  horses, 
226. 

Seven,  give  a  portion  to,  236. 

Sew,  a  time  to,  101,  &.c. 

Shadow,  man's  days  like  a,  156. 

Shearjashab,  350. 

Shepherds,  the  one,  264. 

Shiloh,  286,  287. 

Shine,  wisdom  makes  the  face  to,  191. 

Silence,  a  time  to  keep,  101. 

Silver  cord,  the,  251. 

Sin,  and  suffering,  314 ;  Job's  friends, 
view  of  the  connection  of,  324. 

Sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  442. 

Sin  unto  death,  442. 

Sin-ofierings,  377  ;  the  diff'erence  be* 
tween  them  and  burnt-offerings, 
377;  vicarious,  378,  379;  two  pur- 
poses, 380  ;  for  what  sins  presented, 
381,  &c. ;  never  conjoined  with  meat- 
offerings, 384,  «S;c. ;  those  brought  by 
individuals,  385,  &c.  ;  how  related 
to  the  Church  of  the  New  Covenant, 
339. 

Sins,  of  wilfulness  and  ignorance,  139  ; 
of  wickedness  and  weakness,  381, 
382. 

Snake,  the,  bites  without  enchantment, 
230. 

Solomon,  not  the  author  of  Ecclesiastes, 
7,  &c. ;  his  excelling  wisdom,  66,  &c.; 
the  author  of  the  Song  of  Songs,  275, 
&c. ;  his  pleasure  gardens,  278,  &c. ; 
feeling  for  nature,  278  ;  artistic 
tastes,  279. 

Solomon,  the  Messiah  so  entitled,  280, 
286,  &c. 


INDEX  TIL 


487 


Sonji  of  Solomon,  the,  unity  of  the 
271-275;  author  of  the,  275,  &c. ;  its 
sui)erjirii)tion,  281,  282 ;  points  of 
contact  hetwecn,  and  the  book  of 
Pioveihs,  281 ;  historieal  ciicuni- 
stanccs  in  which  it  orijjinated,  285 ; 
two  di\  isions  of,  285,  &c. ;  the  germs 
of,  existed  in  the  day  of  Solomon  in 
all  directions,  293,  &c. ;  its  allegori- 
cal and  spiritual  interpretation  main- 
tained. 21)4 ;  proved  l)y  its  Solomo- 
nian  authorshij),  2i)4,  295;  by  its 
relation  to  Psalm  xlv.,  295  ;  by  the 
allusions  to  it  found  in  the  prophets, 
2\)(i;  \>y  reference  to  it  found  in  the 
New  Testament,  297  ;  by  the  con- 
sentient voice  of  the  Jewisli  Church, 

298  :  by  appeal  to  Josephus,  Sirach, 
and  the  fourth   book  of  Ezra,  298, 

299  ;  l)y  the  Talmud,  299  ;  by  appeal 
to  Abenezra,  299  ;  by  its  admission 
into  the  canon,  299,  300 ;  by  the 
histoi"y  of  its  interpretations,  301,  &c.; 
objections  to  the  spiritual  view  exa- 
mined, 302,  &c. 

Song  of  Songs,  meaning  of  the  phrase, 
272,  277,  294. 

Sons  of  the  prophets,  344. 

Soul,  thf,  not  to  be  satisfied  with 
earthly  possessions,  55,  &c. ;  does 
not  perish  with  the  body,  253 ;  re- 
turns to  God,  254. 

Speak,  a  time  to,  101,  &c. 

Spirit,  the,  of  a  man,  which  goeth  up- 
ward, 118;  of  a  l)easc,  which  goeth 
downward,  119,  &c. ;  no  man  hath 
power  to  retain,  157. 

Sprinkling  with  blood,  3>4. 

Standing  in  an  evil  thing,  195. 

Stoics,  the,  their  views  of  suffering, 
310,  &c. 

Stones,  a  time  to  gather,  99. 

Strange  woman,  the,  185. 

Strong  men,  the,  in  the  description  of 
old  age,  246. 

Study,  much,  a  weariness  to  the  flesh, 
— how  to  be  understood,  265. 

Suflferings,  the,  of  the  righteous,  the 
theme  of  the  book  of  Job,  309  ;  how 
to  be  regarded, — the  Stoic  view  of, 
310,  &c. ;  the  worldly  view,  312;  the 
view  which  regards  them  in  the  light 
of  a  future  recompence,  312  ;  resig- 
nation, as  an  antidote  for,  314  ;  ex- 
plained by  the  fall  of  man,  314;  the 
•  true  solution  of  the  difficulty  respect- 
ing, 315 ;  as  set  forth  in  the  book  of 
Job,  316,  &c. ;  the  view  taken  by 
Job's  three  friends  respecting  sin 
and,  324. 

Sun,  the,  the  image  of  human  exist- 
ence, 51. 


Sun  and  Moon  darkened,  245. 
Sweareth,  he  that,  209. 

Tears,  the  bread  of,  213. 

Temple,  the  future  rebuihling  of  the 
Jewish  inconceivable,  465,  &c. 

Testaments,  the  Old  and  the  New,  their 
connection,  343 ;  the  Old.  has  writ- 
ten the  history  of  all  nations,  343, 
344;  the  prophetic  element  of  the 
Old,  344. 

Thank-offerings,  399-401 ;  two  classes 
of,  401;  difference  between  tlicm  and 
sin-offerings,  401,  412  ;  a  i)eculiar 
usage  connected  with,  402 ;  feasts 
connected  with,  403. 

Thanksgiving,  372,  402. 

Thorns,  the  crackling  of,  under  the 
pot,  103. 

Time  for  every  thing,  89. 

Time  and  change,  218. 

Times  of  the  heathen,  45G. 

Tonga  Islands,  a  peculiar  custom  in 
the,  374. 

Tongue,  the  man  of,  230. 

Traducianism,  and  creationism,  255, 
&e. 

Trap  and  snare,  219. 

Travail,  the,  which  God  has  given  to 
the  sons  of  men,  104 ;  which  is 
caused  by  improper  speexdation  abouC 
God,  205. 

Tree,  the,'  lies  where  it  falls,  237. 

Trespass-offerings,  385,  38G. 

Tribulation,  the,  which  was  to  precede 
the  appearance  of  the  Messiah,  288, 
&c. 

Unity  of  the  Song  of  Solomon,  271-275. 
Unleavened  bread,  its  symbolic  import, 

407. 
Upright,  man  was  made,  189. 
Uzziah,  351-353. 

Vanity,  of  all  earthly  things,  44 ;  to 
impress  this  on  the  mind  of  the 
Church  was  the  mission  of  the  book 
of  Ecclesiastes,  46,  &c. ;  how  to  be 
reconciled  with  the  creation  of  all 
things  good,  48,  &c. ;  not  the  end  of 
God's  ways,  49,  &c. 

Vicarious  sacrifices,  378,  &c. 

Voice  of  the  bird,  the,  247,  &c. 

Vows,  138,  139,  140,  401. 

Wall,  whoso  breaketh  through  a,  227. 
War,  the,  in  which  there  is  no  dis 

charge,  198. 
Watchmen  of  the  house,  the,  246. 
Water,  bread  cast  on  the,  235. 
Water,  streams  of,  a  symbol  of  the  re- 

sultlessness  of  human  aflairs,  52,  &c. 


488 


INDEX  III. 


Waving  fhe  thank-offerings,  the  signi- 
fication of  the  usage,  402,  &c. 

Weakness,  sins  of,  281,  282,  283. 

Weep,  a  time  to,  99,  &c. 

Wheel,  the,  broken  at  the  cistern,  252. 

White  garments,  214. 

Whole  duty  of  man,  the,  267. 

Wicked  over  much,  be  not,  177. 

Wicked,  the,  the  burial  of,  199. 

Wickedness,  in  the  place  of  judgment, 
113,  &c. ;  a  wicked  man  prospering 
in  his,  173. 

Wife  of  thv  youth,  the,  168. 

Wilful  sins,  281,  282,  283. 

Wind,  observing  the,  238. 

Wind,  as  the  symbol  of  human  exist- 
ence, 52  ;  the  poor  are,  220. 

Wise  over  much,  176. 

Wise  man,  the,  and  the  fool,  equally 
exposed  to  death,  83 ;  oppression 
makes  mad,  164;  Koheleth  a,  258; 
the  words  of  the,  260. 

Wisdom,  personified,  41. 

Wisdom,  one  of  the  splendid  possessions 
of  the  age  of  Solomon,  17,  59  ;  pain- 

•  ful  search  after,  61,  62 ;  what  sort 
depreciated  by  Koheleth,  67;  and 
folly,   81 ;    good  as  an  inheritance, 


167;  a  defence,  169;  diificult  to  find, 
182;  heathenish,  184;  Israelitish, 
185;  the  true,  extolled,  190;  the 
prerogative  of  God's  people,  219  ; 
better  than  weapons  of  war,  221. 

Woman,  the,  whose  heart  is  snares,  184, 
&c.  ;  the  strange,  185  ;  not  one  in  a 
thousand,  187,  188. 

Woman  of  Samaria,  the  conversation 
of  Jesus  with  the,  462. 

Word  of  God,  the,  its  power,  262,  &c. 

Words  of  the  wise,  260. 

World,  the,  the  temptation  to  adopt  its 
wisdom  in  times  of  oppression,  28, 
&c. ;  its  sorrows  and  wretchedness, 
124,  &c. ;  a  vale  of  tears,  159. 

World,  the,  a  warning  against  the  study 
of  its  literature,  265. 

Worship  of  God,  evils  connected  with 
the,  133. 

Youth  addressed,  241,  &c. ;  the  Creator 
to  be  remembered  in,  243,  &c. 

Zeal  in  good  works,  symbolized  by  the 

meat-offering,  404,  406. 
Zion,  the  deliverer  come  to,  460,  464, 

&c.,  468 ;  the  return  of  Israel  to,  470. 


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IN  PREPARATION 
Tholuck's  Commentary  on  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 

— Translated  from  the  last  German  Edition. 
Delitzsch  on  Genesis. — Translated  from  the  Third  Edition  of 
the  German,  by  Chas.  P.  Krauth,  D.D. 


BS1475.H511 

Commentary  on  Ecclesiastes :  with  other 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00033  8733 


DATE  DUE 


HIGHSMITH  #45230 


